Firewalk With Me
by thatsmscrazytoyou
Summary: "I'd rather be dead than trapped. Sorry dude." An Embry imprint story.
1. Chapter 1

Note: I have decided to re-write my old story 'Girl Interrupted'. It just didn't flow. With the name, I was risking a Mary Sue *shudders*. And I am terrified of them.

I only like some parts of Twilight. Jacob and his culture appeal to me. That's it. The rest could just go away. If Myers had written about just about the tribe, I would have become hardcore. But no, she had to write about the sparkle brigade and the queen Mary Sue. The pregnancy and birth scene made me vomit. In my opinion Bella is empty and Edward is borderline abusive. Myers is an okay writer with okay ideas. But I love everything and everyone else. Honestly.

Yes, there will be Bella/Nessie/Edward bashing, but it won't be too bad and in later chapters.

I always wanted to tie things up with Embry and Leah. The former because Myers never wrapped up the whole 'who is his father' thing plus he never imprinted and the latter because I know what's it's like to be one of the few female figures in a male dominated society and to be worried that I may be less of a woman because of things I can not control. And also because she didn't imprint and she deserved to have a happy ending.

Anyway, enjoy!

The prologue takes place a year and a month before Bella arrives, according to the timeline.

Enjoy!

Xxx

December 2003

It had been nearly seven years since Elizabeth and her family had been back to La Push. Elizabeth had been a member of the Quileute tribe. Her sister, Sarah, had married Billy Black and Elizabeth had married a man named Ivan Dalca, a drifter who claimed to be a gypsy and promised her many things. Beth (as she was called) had run away with her as her parents had disapproved of her relationship. They had seen Ivan for what he was and when he had abandoned her, she had been too ashamed to go back to her parents.

All he had left her was a crappy apartment and two children. The twins, Mila and Nadia, were the best things that had come out of the mess she had called a marriage. They had ended up settling in a small town in Maryland near the Pennsylvania named Saul's Corner. She had never remarried and had just reconnected with her sister when the accident happened. That had been the only time the twins had ever been to La Push. The whole thing had been awkward. Their cousins had been too upset to be friendly and their mother had spent the whole time comforting and organizing.

After they had come home, Beth had kept in contact with her brother-in-law and now they were visiting again, this time under happier circumstances.

Nadia was determined to have fun this time. That was the way she was.. Even at 13, the woman she would become was showing through. She loved being in crowds and was blessed with being both sweet and charismatic. Clearly she would grow up to be the All American Girl. Prom queen, student body president, the girl everyone loved. She loved to play sports, and was on the soccer and lacrosse teams during the school year and swam in the summer. She was even a Cadette in the Girl Scouts, which nearly put it over the top.

Unlike her sister, Mila was less inclined to surround herself with admirers. She had a smaller group, and used her tongue for sharp rather than sweet comments. Her pursuits were more solitary: photography and writing. Unlike her sister, her singing voice could make your ears bleed. The only thing they had in common were sports. Mila loved hockey, field, street or ice. Mostly because she got to hit people in the ankles.

The first day had been a blur of activity. The flight, the drive from the airport, meeting everyone again and then the unpacking. They would be staying for about ten days.

Day Two was the 21st and the first real day of their vacation. Nadia had met up with Jacob, Quil, Sam and Jared after breakfast, going into the woods. She had yet to fully cross over into the dark (aka girly) side, so she would probably be running around, screaming like a moron and climbing trees solely so she could jump out of them a second later. Mila attempted to hide in her room so she could finish the latest Harry Potter book, but her mother had found her and forced her out of the house. She had grabbed her camera and walked around the reservation.

Noon found her at the beach, sitting in the sand and staring at the ocean. She was rubbing the strap of her camera back and forth across her palm, nearly rubbing the skin wrong. The Nikon was brand new, an early Christmas gift from her mother. Mila didn't have many shots left and intended to save what she had left for something important. The film was…somewhere.

"Hey."

Mila looked up. One of the guys that lived on the rez was standing next to her.

"Hi."

"Have you seen the guys?"

"No. Nadia ran off with them somewhere. Just go into the woods and listen for screaming and crashing. Those sounds tend to follow Dia."

"Thanks," he said. "You're…Millie?"

"Mila," she said. "I don't remember who you are."

"Embry Call."

"Oh, right."

He sat next to her and smiled. "Why are you alone?"

"Why are you?"

"I asked first."

"Well, I wanted to take some pictures. And that's hard to do when you have a blabbering twit in your ear."

"That's cool."

Embry nodded and looked over at her. Mila turned her head from the view and smiled at him. She was at ease with guys, but the ones back home were the guys. She had known them since she was a little girl. This one was a breath of fresh air. He didn't have boogers hanging from his nose, mossy braces or smell like old cheese and sweat. Well, she wasn't close enough to test the last one.

"You cold?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. Mila never got cold. The same went for Nadia.

Just as she was about to actually start talking, a shriek from the bowels of hell interrupted her. It was Nadia, with Jacob, Quil, Sam and Jared. She was riding piggyback on Jacob, waving her arms and yelling.

"WE FOUND A TREEHOUSE! A REAL TREEHOUSE! LET'S GO!" Nadia yelled.

"I will if you stop yelling."

"FINE!" Nadia grinned like a moron. "ONWARD!"


	2. Chapter 2

1. Mrs. Call has remarried and pulled a reverse Renee. She's moved to Seattle with her new husband. Embry is still in La Push, working at a nearby grocery and going to community college. His mother sends money.

2. The pack is back together, having worked it out not long after the sparkle brigade left town.

3. I forgot how Nessie ages. But I calculated it. She grew at 4.5 times the normal rate in the womb. (9 divided by 2 is 4.5).

Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Xxx

July 2010

"You ready to get your asses kicked?" Mila asked the captain of the opposing team aka the shirts, Kyle Morgan

"Better ask your side that question Dalca," Kyle said, jerking his head at the skins.

"Tough words coming from a guy who gets manicures every week."

"At least one of us is in touch with their feminine side."

"BURN!" one of the players on Kyle's side yelled and was given the finger by a player on the skins side.

Every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday when the weather permitted it, the youth of Saul's Corner would gather in the Peach Tree Road cul de sac to play a game of street hockey. The players ranged from 13 to 22, most of them male with one consistent female player. Sometimes other girls played, girls who wanted to prove that they were tough or wanted to show off for a boyfriend or crush. There was a core group of 14, but usually at least six brought a friend. The summer heat made it a shirts vs. skins game. Mila captained the skins in a sports bra, which was a revenge thing.

Kyle was her ex. They had dated for over a year and he had dumped her in May for a big boobed blonde. They had gone to said blonde's prom together and had been caught screwing in a limo. That was how she had found out. The betrayal didn't hurt as much as the cliché of it all.

Hence why she was going to kick his ass.

"Calm down," Jacob hissed as she skated over to the bench where the cooler was set up.

"Trust me, after a while you'll want to break his ankles too," Mila told her cousin as she grabbed her bottle of Gatorade.

"He has a mean face," Nessie said from her seat. Mila just stared at the girl. She didn't know the girl very well. Jacob had just showed up three days ago with the girl in tow. She was about 17, with curly bronze hair and brown eyes.

And she annoyed Mila to no end. Yet another girly girl to invade her house. Nadia was bad enough, but at least she had her flawed moments and they were bound by blood. Nessie, so far, had showed no signs of being anything less than perfect. Jacob was completely smitten with her, to the point where he followed her wherever she went, did whatever she told him to do. It scared her.

After they had come to La Push, Jacob had visited his cousins and aunt once a week every summer. He had been the leader when he was there, Mila handing over her role to her favorite cousin for that time. He had not come the summers between 2007 and 2009, and never told them why. Though now that she had met Nessie, Mila had a pretty good idea why.

Unlike Nessie, the twins were not the embodiment of perfection, though Nadia came close. She had been Prom/Homecoming queen in high school, varsity captain of the every team she had been on. But, she was a bit naïve, in that way where sarcasm just flies over one's head and when she didn't understand something, she would act like a child, stamping her foot and pouting.

The twins were technically identical. Both were tall and wiry, with red-brown hair and hazel eyes. But everyone could tell them apart. Nadia chose the path of effort. That mean she did her hair, put on makeup, read the fashion mags so she could but the trendiest clothes and borderline sparkled. Mila chose the path of least resistance in that area. She did none of the above, was covered in scrapes, scars and bruises and considered finger-combing her hair, tying it up and putting on deodorant primping. While Nadia was slender, Mila a bit broader. The various items she used kept Nadia's hair smooth and her skin clear while Mila's tended to frizz and her skin was dotted with small pimples and a few acne scars.

But Nessie glided when she walked, never stuttered, always said the right thing and Mila swore she glowed. It was very strange. She wouldn't be playing. Ever since they had gotten to the game, she had been perched on the bench, simpering while Jacob hovered over her. She had a book by her, and it would have redeemed her if it wasn't one of those 'drunk rich kids who screw around with everyone they know' books. Mila had read those, but they were a guilty pleasure. Nessie considered it a great book, one of the best she'd ever read.

When it came things like that, Mila was close minded. Her love for reading went with her love for writing. And it disturbed her when people favored trash.

"C'mon let's play!" someone yelled.

As half-time neared, Mila was knocked to the ground by one of the shirts, Henry LaMontagne. He had the decency to look ashamed. Kyle laughed as she got up. Some of the guys had stopped playing and some had slowed down.

"Don't be such wimps. Play!" Mila barked as she grabbed her stick and they resumed the game. The shirts scored, which left them tied at two each. As Mila skated over to the cooler, someone tapped her on the shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Look at that truck," Jackie Hart whistled.

"Isn't that your driveway?" Ben Shapiro asked. And indeed it was.

"Embry and Leah are here!" Nessie squealed.

"Be back in twenty." Mila called and skated down the street.

Xxx

"I wonder how big the spawn's gotten."

"Don't let Jacob hear you call her that."

Leah rolled her eyes. They had left for this road trip a month ago. When they had heard Jacob and Nessie would be in Maryland around the same time they would, they decided to meet up with him.

Things were back to the way they had been before the leeches had met Bella and the whole mess had started. Some argued that the troubled had begun when the Cullens moved to town. But Leah had pointed out that they would have picked up and left if Bella hadn't moved to town. And Embry agreed.

Everyone who had imprinted around the era of chaos, with the exception of Quil and Claire, was married by now. The packs had reunited now that the threats had been vanquished and the bloodsuckers gone. Jacob had been conflicted about leaving but his pull to his imprint had been stronger than his loyalty to the pack. They understood, at least the ones who had imprinted. Embry and Leah sort of understood. But as Sam said, only those who had imprinted could truly understand. Even Seth had imprinted by now. The girl in question was a checkout girl named Wendy who was two years older than him.

It was the mid afternoon. Soon, they would have to stop for a place to sleep. They could drive through the night but it was Leah's turn and she got even crankier than usual if she didn't sleep. Embry had goaded her into the road trip experience, saying that everyone took a road trip. Plus they might find their imprints if they drove rather than take an easier way. While it hadn't worked for Jacob, but it might for them.

"Where are we stopping?" Leah asked.

"There's a town a few miles away, called Saul's Corner. Remember the Pettigrews?"

A blank stare from Leah. "No."

"They visited years ago. The twins, Mila and Nadia?"

"Is one of them the crazy one who nearly broke her arm falling through the ceiling of the old tree house?"

"That was Nadia."

"We're staying with them?"

"Just for the night. Then, we'll head home."

Leah mumbled something and slumped in her seat, gripping the wheel even tighter. If you had known her for years, then you would know that the yoga and anger management seminars had helped her out a lot. But, he whole trip had been a bust for her. She had been bored out of her mind during the visit and she had walked around the city for hours, hoping to find someone. Nothing had struck her and she had been hoping. So she deserved to have her drama queen moment.

Only Embry knew what it was like to be alone and surrounded by people who weren't. it was sickening, listening to their pack mates go on and on about their beloved imprints. But you couldn't hate them. If you could control this, then they wouldn't be doing this, driving across the country looking for someone. Leah would have chosen someone closer to home.

And it wouldn't be Sam. But the situation was the same. He was with someone else that she couldn't take him away from.

Stupid imprinting.

Life isn't fair, Leah reminded herself. Get over yourself. Get over him.

They pulled into the driveway and exited the truck (Leah's) to the sound of boys/men yelling and the clattering of sticks. They looked to see a crowd playing up the street. Leah rolled her eyes but Embry watched for a moment longer before following her inside.

They were greeted by Beth and Nadia. Beth offered them a plate of cookies.

"Hey!" Nadia squealed and hugged both of them. Leah looked shocked and tad offended while Embry just laughed and hugged her back. "So good to see you! Both of you. You look good."

"So do you," Embry said. Leah just stared at the plate of cookies and took several.

"How long are you staying?" Nadia asked.

"Only tonight," Leah answered, a tone of relief in her voice and a cookie in each hand.

"Poop. Well, we can watch movies, order pizza, stay up. Where's Mila anyway?"

"It's Friday, remember?" Beth said in her usual dreamy voice.

As Embry was about to ask about the significance of Fridays, the door banged open. A young woman stood there. She was wearing shorts and an inside out mesh tank top. Her hair was frizzing from it's ponytail and there was a fresh scrape on her cheek.

"Oh hi," she said as the Earth moved beneath Embry's feet. Everyone else just ceased and the cookie he was holding fell from his hand.

This is it, a voice told him

Leah saw his face change. A new light came into his eyes and she just knew.

Another has bitten the dust.

Xxx

Um, review please? I'm new to this, so feedback would be appreciated. Anonymous reviews are enabled, so those people will receive thanks in the next author's note. Logged in people will get reviews from me or a PM. Just tell me anything, though flames with no con-crit will be used to warm my freezing house and entertain me.


	3. Chapter 3

"Jacob is going to kill you."

Embry and Leah were in the kitchen, whispering as they pretended to be looking for something to eat. It had been 20 minutes since Embry had imprinted on Mila. Since then, he had spent 15 minutes staring at her and the rest talking to Leah. Mila and Jacob had gone back to the game and Leah had forced Embry to stay at the house with her. They needed a plan.

"Maybe he won't," Embry said as he picked up a block of cheese.

"He's not going to be happy. Remember Paul and Rachel? It took him months to accept that. And he's just as close to Mila."

"Do you think that I wanted this to happen?"

"No. God, Embry. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Give me some time."

"Am I interrupting something?"

Both jumped. Nadia stood a few feet away, arms crossed. "No," Leah said and stepped away from the fridge. "Want anything?"

"No, I'm good," Nadia said. "You okay Embry? You looked…flushed earlier."

"I'm fine."

"Just go splash some water on your face. The bathroom's upstairs. Second door on the left."

He nodded and left, eager to get away from Leah and Nadia. As soon as he was out of earshot, Nadia turned to Leah, her usual easy going expression gone, replaced by an almost calculating one. "So, what happened back there?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Leah lied. Nadia rolled her eyes.

"Don't bullshit me. He was fine and then BAM!" Leah jumped because Nadia had slammed her hand on the counter rather suddenly. "It was like someone stuck him with a cattle prod. He spent the whole time looking at Mila like she was God or something."

"You're pretty close," Leah said slowly. She had no idea how much Nadia knew about Quileute culture. Some people who left shunned every aspect of their culture and their children grew up ignorant.

"Oh my god, he imprinted." Nadia gasped and clutched the counter. "The stories are true. The fucking stories are true."

You could have knocked Leah over with a feather.

Meanwhile, Embry had left the bathroom and was about to go downstairs when he stopped at the landing. He could smell something. Apples and cinnamon, like Mila. He followed it to a room down the hall. The door was half open and he went inside.

The walls were purple, with posters and a bulletin board full of photos. The bed was unmade, the green and purple blanket pushed to the end of the mattress. The desk housed a computer, which was off and had sticky notes stuck to the edges. A camera was next to it. The white dresser was covered in stickers and had shampoo and body wash on the top. He could see no makeup or hair products anywhere. The bookshelf was full, no room to spare. At least a dozen books were stacked on the floor. Embry looked over the titles. She had the entire Harry Potter series on the top shelf, and the spines were well worn. Mila seemed to favor thick mystery novels and memoirs. He couldn't see a Gossip Girl (the only books he knew were aimed only at girls) or a romance novel anywhere.

He smiled at the hockey stick and soccer ball in the corner. His smile only grew when he saw the bulletin board. The pictures were mostly of people he didn't recognize. Nadia was in a few, as well as Beth. But he recognized a few other faces. In the center were some pictures from her visit to La Push. One of the whole pack, one of Nadia and Jacob and then there was the one that made his face break into a stupid grin:

Embry and Mila standing on the beach, smiling and their faces squished together. Mila had taken the picture herself, her arm stretching so she could get them both in the shot.

He couldn't explain why, but that gave him hope.

Xxx

Note: About the smell thing? My theory is that the imprinter can pick you out from a crowd is by scent. After all, they are wolves. It will come into play later.

Sorry it's so short! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

It was official.

The world had gone crazy.

Nadia sat with Leah and Embry in the rec room. Her mother had run down to the office while Embry had been wandering around upstairs. He had been gone for quite a while. Leah had found him in Mila's room, studying everything that was visible. Going into her desk or dresser would be crossing a line. At the moment, he was going on and on about how perfect she was.

"She'll fit right in at the rez. I mean, she isn't a girly girl. We could play sports together. I wonder if she likes cliff diving. It seems like she would."

Nadia wanted to bury her face in her hands. According to Leah, it would be like this forever. He would talk about her absolute perfection for hours at end if no one stopped him. The same went for everyone who imprinted. The imprintee could do no wrong in their imprinter's eyes. The imprinter would be anything that their imprintee needed: friend, lover, sibling. They would never leave them, and would avenge any wrongdoing towards the imprintee.

It wasn't fair to Nadia. She was jealous of her sister for the first time in their lives. She would love if someone imprinted on her. Nadia was a romantic. The few books she did have were romance novels full of love and everlasting devotion. She actually put effort in her appearance, read all the women's magazines so she could do everything right. She wanted it more than anything. But Mila, her tomboy sister who didn't believe in romance much less want it, was imprinted on.

When Mila had started reading up on Quileute legends, she had come across a few stories about imprinting. Nadia had sighed dreamily and said that it was romantic. Mila had scoffed and said it was stupid.

"What are you going to do?" Nadia asked, interrupting Embry's monologue.

"I'm going to take her out tonight. Do you think she'll go?"

"No. Mila isn't a man-hater, but she isn't the biggest fan of your gender. Her ex was a douche."

"Did he hurt her?" Embry leapt up.

"I have no idea. But he did piss her off. I had to physically restrain her one night. She wanted to burn his house down and go all 'Before He Cheats' on his car."

"What the hell did he do?" Leah asked, being familiar with the song.

"He cheated on her with a girl she works with. Someone caught them screwing in a limo. It wasn't pretty. I thought her head was going to explode." Nadia paused and decided to let loose one of her twin's biggest secrets. "She even cried. I heard her."

"I'll kill him," Embry growled.

"No you won't," Leah sighed. "I hate imprinting."

"Hey, the game's going to be over soon. You should go see her. If her team won, then she'll be more receptive to going on a date with you," Nadia suggested.

"Good idea!" Embry left the house, a bit more cheerful than he had been.

The game was in full swing. The score was tied and the next goal determined the winner. Mila was in the middle of the action, stick swinging at people's ankles as she skated towards the ball. Embry watched his vision laugh and raise her stick to get it in the goal when it happened.

A tall blond boy rushed over to her and deliberately knocked her over. Mila fell to the ground, nose meeting the gravel with a crunch. The game stopped. She struggled to stand and when she did, they all gasped.

Blood dripped from her nose, and it stained her chin and was dripping onto her neck. Embry turned to the guy who had knocked her down and swung at him.

Xxx

Note: I am basing the romantic aspects on the relationship between my sister and her fiance. It's very imprinter/imprintee like. Not fun to watch when you're alone and sad. When I brought it up, she hit me upside the head. My sister hates Twilight.

The 'Before He Cheats' thing references the Carrie Underwood song. The lyrics go 'I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up four wheel drive/carved my name into his leather seats/took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights/slashed a hole in all four tires'

Sorry it's so short. I've got the flu.

Review!


	5. Chapter 5

"Dude, what the hell?" Kyle yelled just before Embry's fist connected with his jaw. Nessie screamed like a four year old girl while most of the players looked on in awe. Jacob was torn between helping his pack mate and helping his cousin. Though Mila seemed to be handling her injury fine all by herself. She was currently leaning against the goal, a shirt pressed to her nose. From all appearances, the bleeding had slowed.

"Embry, what the hell?" Jacob chose to help his pack mate by grabbing him by the elbow before he could take another swing at Kyle.

"What he did wasn't right," Embry growled, glaring at Kyle. There was a red mark on his jaw and cheek. "You don't do that to girls."

"Woman!" Mila cried from her position, though the word came out garbled due to her nose being clogged and the shirt pressed to it.

"Dalca can handle it," Kyle shrugged, rubbing where he had been hit.

"Still not right," Embry muttered. Nessie came up to the group, having recovered from her…whatever the screaming was all about. She put her hand on Jacob's arm, and a meaningful look passed between them. Jacob nodded, and she went over to Mila, who still looked a bit confused and very pissed. Though at who, that was a mystery.

"Come on Mills, I'll take you to the clinic and they can check out your nose," Nessie said to her.

"Game's not over," Mila answered, her voice thick.

"Yes it is," Jacob said, a bit of the authority back in his voice. He was the Alpha once again and that made everyone in the cul de sac pay attention. "Everyone go home. Now!" His gaze swung to Kyle, who looked like he wanted to jump Embry. His pack mate's attention was no longer focused on Kyle, but on Mila. Nessie was trying to get her to go with her, but Mila was all but clinging to the goal. "Mila, go with Nessie. Your nose could be broken. Embry, I'd like to have a word with you."

"Fine," Mila muttered and skated after Nessie down the street. Her father had given Nessie a Range Rover as an early birthday gift. He wouldn't be happy if blood got all over the seats. Lucky for Mila, Nessie had huge amounts of self-control. She would be play to get her cousin in law to the clinic without any incident.

Meanwhile, as the guys began to scatter, Jacob turned to Embry. Before Embry could even think of a halfway plausible lie, Jacob smacked him upside the head.

"What the hell dude?" Embry snapped.

"Please tell me you've gone on some insane chivalry kick," Jacob said. Embry didn't say anything. "Not you too. Why is it always my relatives?"

"I'm sorry. You know as well as I do, you can't control who you imprint on," Embry said. A lovesick smile crossed his face. "She's perfect Jake."

"Oh god," Jacob muttered, really wishing he had a six pack of Coors rather than a bottle of Gatorade. The honeymoon phase was the worst. It lasted hours and in some cases, days. After that, you were still subject to such drivel, but it was during phasing. Usually they got through it with alcohol.

"She's beautiful. Really beautiful. Not like those girls who have to pile on makeup and fancy clothes to look nice. But she's real Jake."

Jacob repressed the urge to hit his friend again and walked down to the house. He knew that Beth had beer somewhere and the only way he was going to keep himself from killing Embry was by consuming it.

"I know she's your cousin, man, but she's just amazing. I've never seen anyone look so beautiful while playing sports. It's like the world doesn't matter anymore, only the game. I went in her room, and it made me want her more. She has great taste in books and movies and she kept that picture of us she took at La Push. That has to mean something, right?"

Jacob repressed the urge to face-palm and hurried back to the house.

Meanwhile, Nessie and Mila were halfway to the clinic. Nessie didn't care about speed limits, as she had the gift to get away with anything. Mila chose not to engaged her in conversation. She had attempted to do so several times in the past week and found that they had nothing to talk about. It was like trying to converse with a four year old.

"So, that was pretty brave what Embry did, huh?" Nessie asked as they turned into the clinic parking lot.

"He punched a guy for no reason," Mila shrugged. "That's not brave. It's stupid."

"But he was defending your honor!"

"What honor? Kyle knocked me down. I could have handled him myself if Embry hadn't gone on White Knight on crack and beat the shit out of him."

Mila had no idea why women thought a guy doing something like what Embry had done was romantic. She could have handled Kyle herself. She had done it before. Plus it showed a total lack of self-control. She hoped that not all guys from Washington were that way.

In the fall, she would be transferring from the local community college to Peninsula College. There was an excellent writing program there. She would have gone two years ago, but it was more financially responsible to stay and transfer. Nadia would be staying with their mother. Port Angeles wasn't too far from La Push, but she wouldn't be visiting much. Jacob and Nessie lived in New York and she didn't have any other contacts at the rez. Not that she really wanted to restablish any after what Embry did.

Though she had to admit, he did have a good left hook.


	6. Chapter 6

"So what do you think of Embry?"

"He's cool, I guess."

"That's it?"

"Why would I be thinking of him?"

"He seems to like you."

"Dude, I thought we agreed to share weed."

Nadia rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to hit her twin upside the head. Nessie and Leah chose not to comment on the exchange. The girls were in Nadia's bedroom, looking at the twins DVD collection. The guys had gone to get pizza, though Jacob had literally ended up dragging Embry out the door. Mila and Nessie had left the clinic nearly as soon as they had arrived. As she had had but screamed, Mila's nose wasn't even broken. All the nurse had done was clean the blood that had been all over her face and instructed her not to injure it again. It seemed that Mila was in and out of the clinic on a regular basis, as she was on a first name basis with all the staff they had come across. It was her second visit that summer, her fourth that year. But this was the first one regarding her nose. Leah and Mila were pouring over what the latter's collection, half of which was in a crate and the rest on the floor around them.

Mila liked Leah. She was blunt and unintentionally hilarious. Plus she didn't seem to like Nessie very much and as the old saying went: the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Though enemy was a strong word to describe how Mila felt about her cousin's girlfriend, the person who is irritated by the same person who irritates you is your friend did not flow as well. She didn't have many female friends, as most of the girls she had gone to school with fit more into the Nessie/Nadia category.

"Cool! 10 Things I Hate About You!" Nessie said, hoping up the DVD. Leah and Mila gagged and Leah randomly plucked a DVD from the crate.

"What about Dogma?" she asked.

"That's boring. What about Miss. Congeniality?" Nadia suggested.

"No," Mila and Leah chorused.

"You two are so boring!" Nadia made a face and Mila flipped her the bird.

"When are the guys getting back?" Mila asked as she looked through the crate.

"Miss Embry?" Nessie asked.

"No. I want some pizza," Mila answered and threw up her hands. "Why do you keep asking me about Embry?"

An awkward silence reigned as the other three women attempted to say something that didn't give it all away. Nadia pretended to be looking through the stack of DVDs on her lap, Nessie became very interested in the contents of the open desk drawer she was sitting by and Leah just stared at them, wondering if she would have to be the one to tell her.

"Why? Dia, I know you want me to find someone, but why are you pushing some guy who's only going to be here a night on me?" Mila asked.

"Um, well you see, it's very complicated…," Nadia wrung her hands and looked to Nessie and Leah for help.

"You're soul mates," Nessie said in a dreamy voice, reminding Mila of Luna Lovegood.

"Bullshit," Mila rolled her eyes and looked at Leah, who was staring at Nessie with a disgusted look on her face.

"Just tell her already!" Leah snapped.

"Tell me what?" Mila all but screamed.

"He imprinted on you this afternoon!"

"What?" Mila dropped the copy of Halloween she had been holding. The case bounced and lay forgotten by her knees.

"He did so Nessie was right. He is your soul mate," Nadia said.

Mila just stared at her sister and the other two. Her heart was pounding so fast she thought that she would throw up. Her palms were sweating and she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It couldn't be real. No, it couldn't. When she had been researching her background, she had read about imprinting. The words flashed in her mind, as clear as the day she had read them.

**Imprinting is the involuntary mechanism by which shape-shifters find their soul mates**

**A shape-shifter imprints on the person he's bound to the moment he sees her. It is described as being pulled toward that person while a glowing heat fills him; the connection with everything else is severed and only the imprintee is left to matter, leaving the shape-shifter with a deep need to provide the imprintee with anything she needs or wants.**

When she had read that, Mila had been 16 and it had sounded nice at first, but then she realized that it was awful. What if the imprintee didn't want to be with the imprinter? What if the imprintee fell in love with someone else? What if the imprinter was dating someone at the time? What happens to them?

"You're fucking crazy," she whispered.

"No, we're not. It's true," Leah shrugged.

"Dude, why me?" Mila asked Leah and Nessie, who surely knew more about this than Nadia would.

"No one knows why. The most popular theory is that the imprintee will make the imprinter stronger. That together they will produce the best children," Leah said. Mila's eyebrows went into her hair.

"OH HELL NO!"

Mila jumped up and ran out of the room, stopping to grab her keys. As she skidded into the front room, the guys came back, Jacob holding the pizza. When she saw Embry standing in her living room, she paled.

"Are you okay Mills?" Jacob asked.

"I refuse to have your demon spawn!" Mila screamed at Embry and pushed her way out the door.

Xxx

Note:

So what did you guys think?

If you're confused or upset about Mila's reaction just place yourself in her shoes. You're 20, about to finally really start your life. You've been hurt bad recently and even before that you thought love was crap. Your dad knocked up your mom and ran. And here you are, being told by two strangers and your insane sister that you do have a soul mate and you'll probably have to have his babies.

I would run too.


	7. Chapter 7

"**You told her?"**

"**Blame them. Not me!"**

**Leah glared at Jacob and leaned against the wall. For some reason, rather than go into the living room or kitchen, they were crowded into Nadia's room. It wasn't very big, so with three girls, all with long limbs that were sprawled out and two tall, muscular guys that had a bit of trouble getting through the door, there wasn't much room for everyone. Well, there would have been if Nadia let people sit on her bed. She lay there, clutching a pink and white bunny while the rest sat on the floor. Nessie had stolen the beanbag chair and Jacob sat at her feet. The sight of the tall, muscular man leaning against a light blue beanbag covered in pink, purple and white butterflies would have been funny in any other context. **

"**She was interrogating us!" Nadia protested. **

"**No she wasn't. She asked a couple questions and you two folded!" Leah snapped, greatly annoyed that she was stuck with two people who seemed to share a brain. Though, if the stack of Shakespeare and Twain she had spotted in Nadia's desk drawer were there because she actually read them, at least there was hope for her. Leah had known Nessie long enough to know that there was no hope. **

"**Where would she go?" Embry asked. **

"**I don't know!" Nadia said. **

"**She's your sister! How could you not know?"**

"**Calm down," Leah said in a flat voice. She spoke more for show rather than any attempt at controlling the situation. **

"**How can I? My imprint is out there, alone and scared-."**

**Nadia snorted and said something that sounded like "More like homicidal and on the run."**

"**So, where are her usual haunts?" Leah asked, annoyed.**

"**The bookstore, the park…" Nadia ticked the locations off on my fingers. "I don't know!"**

**Xxx**

**When her truck went over the speed bump that had no sign, Mila's body jolted up and her head hit the ceiling of her car. The red El Camino was older than she was, with chipped paint and rust spots, but it was her baby. Nadia had a VW Bug that was bright yellow that burned her eyes. She looked into the mirror to see if said Bug was following her. **

**No sign of it, at least not yet. **

**It was official: Nadia had been pushed off the edge into the realm of crazy and she had dragged Leah and Nessie with her. Maybe the guys. She had run out of the house before they could grab her and force her down the aisle of doom. The only safe place she could think of was the park a mile from her house. While there was one closer, the one she was heading towards had been her favorite as a child. It would bring some comfort and maybe calm her down.**

**She didn't want to be someone's world. She didn't want to be tied to someone forever and ever. It reminded her of **_**Hellraiser,**_** trapped in a box forever only to be freed when she would be of use. **

**Just like their imprinter, the imprintee may have a hard time keeping their eyes off their loved one for any length of time. The imprintee loves their shape-shifter very much, and is her shape-shifter's one and only. **

The thought made her shiver again and she bit her lip nearly clean through. Blood stained her lips and she licked it idly as she got out of her car and walked across the grass and to the swings. As a child, she had sat on the swings, faced turned to the sky as she thought of freedom and flying.

Xxx

Note: About the Nessie bashing…

For some reason, I picture her this way: spoiled, immature girl who is very bright but chooses to act the way she does. I mean, think about it. She's technically four but has the body of a girl in her teens, is very bright and rich with a family and imprinter who cater to her every whim. That's a recipe for a 'why should I use my brain, people should just keep doing everything for me' type. She'll probably grow out of it when she's 16 or so. Remember, SHE'S FOUR!

The next chapter will be longer. Just filler *sad face*


	8. Chapter 8

Note: I decided to re-work the ending.

Thank you memory bleeds and I hope you and the rest enjoy the improved version of the chapter!

Xxx

After a while, the group had split up. Jacob and Nessie were heading for Saul's Corner's shopping district. In the heart of it was the giant Barnes and Nobles where Mila apparently spent most of her free time and money as well as the McDonalds where she worked. Leah went the opposite way, towards the college. Nadia had been able to recall that sometimes Mila used the fitness center. She would be staying at the house, just in case her sister came back. Embry was supposed to be staying there, but something compelled him to step outside and keep walking.

This was a first. His imprint didn't want anything to do with him. In fact, she had run away screaming. This was a first. In the past, imprintees who didn't want to jump into this right away had at least been willing to talk their imprinter. When the others heard about this, they would never let him hear the end of it.

When he reached the end of the street, Embry turned left, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. He had waited for so long for this. While he hadn't been as angry/obsessed as Leah was, he still wanted it. There was something comforting about having a soul mate. When he saw Sam with Emily, Jared with Kim, even Quil with Claire, he felt a pang in his chest. He had heard tales of shifters who never found their imprint and actually died of loneliness. Those stories had been his primary motivator for what Seth had dubbed 'Leah and Embry's Imprinting Tour'.

A slight breeze kicked up and Embry inhaled just as it did. Grass, leaves and car exhaust filled his nose as well something that made him stop cold: apples and cinnamon. It was coming from east of where he was now, so he changed course.

Imprinting was against your will, Embry knew that. But if it wasn't, or if he had remained a normal guy, would he have chosen Mila anyway? He attempted to clear his head and considered what he actually knew about her.

He didn't really know this Mila. He knew the 13 year old version. She had been quieter then, but maybe that was because Nadia had pushed her into the background. The few times she had joked, there had been hints of sarcasm. He remembered the camera that she had worn around her neck and the book she had carried around. Being the quiet ones, they had been pushed together, often separating from the crowd to hang out. The others had rarely noticed this.

This Mila was confident and had her own spotlight. It seemed she had traded her vocal filter for it. She had separated herself from Nadia as well, which had strained their relationship. Embry had been shocked that Nadia had to spend nearly fifteen minutes thinking of places her twin could be. If someone was looking for any of his pack mates, he would have been able to name every place in an instant.

That branched into a whole new train of thought. Most guys would pick Nadia. She was more of a girl than her sister. If he had imprinted on her, then they wouldn't be having this problem, They would probably be on a date of some sort. And Nadia was technically the better looking twin, but of course, Embry wanted Mila. He saw the scabs, scars and scratches as marks of character. Smooth skin like Nadia's reminded him of the leeches. When he had been looking at the pictures on the wall and watching her play, Embry had seen a gleam in her eyes that her sister lacked.

A few minutes later, he reached a park. As he opened the gate, he could hear a faint creaking sound. As he drew closer, it grew louder and soon he realized that it was the creak of a swing set. The apples and cinnamon scent grew stronger and his eyes made out a figure on the swing set. The creaking was caused by long legs pumping back and forth, and in the cheap glow of the streetlights, he could see her ponytail flying behind her.

"Mila!" he called out. The sound of her name made her head whip around. Her feet dug into the mulch to stop the swing and she walked over to him.

"Did you follow me here?" she asked.

"No."

"Then how did you know to where to find me?"

"I just did."

"Wolf senses, huh?"

They were face to face at this point, just under a streetlight. In the light, Embry could see that something was smeared on her lower lip and had dribbled onto her chin. It was blood. Panic shot through him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

"Your mouth…"

"Oh." Mila shrugged and wiped the blood from her mouth and chin using her fingers. "Are you going to be like this all the time?"

"Be like what?"

"Over-protective."

"Yes. You're my imprint. Which means that your well-being, your wants, your needs are my only concern."

"I know. I've read all about it." Mila turned to him, crossing her arms under her breasts. "Look, I don't want this."

"Why? What's so bad about me?"

"I don't want to responsible for your happiness."

"You don't have to do anything for me. It's my job to take care of you."

"That's the problem. I don't need someone to take care of me. I can do that myself just fine." She raised a hand to fix the stray bit of hair that had been falling into her eyes. "In fact, as of this moment, I release you from all responsibilities pertaining to me." She waved her hand for emphasis, as if that would absolve the bond. Embry could see that the day had worn on her. Her hair was coming out of its ponytail, there were circles forming under her eyes and her body language screamed that she was exhausted. Most of him wanted to take her into his arms and carry her home. But he knew that if he tried, she would get upset and beat (or at least try to) the crap out of him.

Mila spoke again, her voice softer this time. "I'd rather be dead than trapped. Sorry dude." She saw the look on his face and something flickered across her own. It was gone too quick for him to name it. "No, not like that. It's just…I don't want to end up like my mom. She married my father when she wasn't much older than I am now, and after he left, it was like he broke her heart and her brain. She's miserable and we can feel it. I don't want my kids to feel like it's their fault everything's so fucked up, you know?"

"I do. My dad was never around and my mom ended up stuck in La Push so she could raise me around my own kind. So, I know how you feel. But…this is forever and I can be whoever you want me to be."

"But you have to be around me. Or it'll cause physical and mental pain," she said, the edge back to her voice. He didn't know who she was mad at: him for imprinting, herself for being the one or the mad deity who created this.

Before he could answer, her cell phone rang. The chorus from 'Barbie Girl' filled the awkward silence. "It's Dia," she muttered and answered it. "Yeah, I'm fine. Embry found me. We're on our way back now."

Xxx

Note: You know the drill.

Coming up next is Beth's (the mother) reaction to the whole thing and the pack hears the news.

I'm thinking of making a Mila/Embry soundtrack. Any ideas?


	9. Chapter 9

Note: I edited the last chapter, so if you didn't read it then go back and do so.

The first part is mostly dialogue.

While most of the vamps will get crap, Rosalie and Emmett will not. Mostly because Rosalie is my favorite vampire and Emmett saved Leah. Her story is just kick-ass and I can see her getting along with Mila once they get over their differences.

Xxx

"I don't understand."

Jacob took a deep breath and explained the situation again, this time using a more direct way of saying it. "Embry imprinted on Mila."

"For the record, I am totally against it," Mila raised her hand.

"How is this possible? I thought those were just stories…," Beth pressed her hand to her forehead and stared at the group. Nessie was braiding Nadia's hair, while Leah stared at the wall. Mila sat on the loveseat glaring at Embry who was sitting on the floor next to it. Jacob was sitting by Nessie, rubbing her shoulders. It was hard to take this seriously when they were acting so normal. "The only way they could is if the cold ones were around. Isn't it?"

"They were around a few years ago. But they're gone," Jacob said trying to sooth her.

"And Nessie is your imprint?"

"Yes. And Mila is Embry's."

"What are the cold ones?" Nadia asked.

"Vampires," Mila supplied in a dull voice. "What did you think she meant? Zombies?"

"Be nice to your sister Mila," Beth snapped automatically.

"Vampires are real?" Nadia sounded confused.

"Yes," Nessie answered. "A lot of the legends are true."

"Can I go to bed?" Mila asked, raising her hand. By now it was past midnight. The twins were pretty sure that their mother was seeing someone but she kept denying it. There was no way that her office needed her this late on a Friday. Beth nodded, too tired to argue anymore. She waved her hand and they trooped up the stairs. Leah would be sleeping in Mila's room, Nessie in Nadia's and the guys would be in the guest room.

As they were far from sleepy, the rest decided to watch a movie upstairs. Embry's phone rang as they walked up the stairs. The Caller ID showed that it was Quil.

"Hey man what's up?" Embry greeted him.

"Nothing. It's so boring here. How's Maryland?"

"Great."

"Who is it?" Jacob asked.

"Quil," Embry replied and put his friend on speaker.

"How is the Maryland version of Forks great?"

There was a pause before Embry answered. "I imprinted."

"Really? On who?"

"Mila."

"Jake's cousin?"

"Yeah."

"Is he pissed?"

"Not as much as she is," Jacob laughed.

"Shut up man!" Embry glared at his friend. "Give her time."

"What happened?"

"When Leah told her, she ran out of the house screaming that she wouldn't have his demon spawn."

"Really?" By then, Quil was laughing.

"It's not funny!"

Xxx

_*** Run rabbit run. _

_She could feel the soft earth beneath her heels. It had rained in the early hours of the morning. She had gone without her iPod during her morning run, and her head had been filled with thoughts of today. She had been actually worried about it, but for the wrong reasons._

_God, you are so stupid, she thought. Never trust anyone again. _

_The hill was soft and steep, a dangerous combination. She tumbled down halfway down and rolled to the bottom. The mud stained her dress and a rock grazed her face. She lay there for a few moments. The run hadn't exhausted her, but the event leading to it had. She wanted to rest for a moment, but she had to keep going. _

_In that moment she vowed to never give in, always be strong. She got up and kept running***_

Ever since she was thirteen, Mila had followed the same morning routine. She would wake up at five-twenty. After she dressed, she would grab a bottle of water and go to the trail behind her house. It was short and running it there and back was a mile's run. It gave her time to think, and that was what she did the morning after the strangest day of her life so far.

She could buy that shape shifters were real and that she was descended from them. From there, it hadn't been so hard to accept that vampires were real. After all, one couldn't really exist without the other. As she had lain in bed, staring at the ceiling, she had wondered if Nessie was some sort of creature. Mila knew the traditional myth, and all the variations. Like a lot of girls in their year, Nadia had gone through a vampire phase and out of boredom, Mila had read the books. Maybe the locket she wore worked like the rings in The Vampire Dairies. Though it didn't explain the whole 'glowing in the sun' thing she had going on. Mila could even believe that Jacob had imprinted the glowstick.

But why was her own situation so hard to accept?

The words from that stupid book kept popping into her head. She hadn't been able to remember a single Chemistry formula, but words from a book she had read when she was in high school came to her with no trouble at all.

**Imprinting can not be forced on anyone, no matter how much the shape-shifter may want it…**

That was some comfort, but not enough to make her stomach stop rolling whenever she thought about it. If there was some sort bizarre baby making related conspiracy going on, Mila highly doubted that she, the boobless/hipless wonder would be first pick as a baby mama. Plus it would be easier to just recruit girls via Myspace anyway.

**It is unknown whether the shape-shifter could go one day without being in contact with his imprintee, the separation potentially causing both of them pain. **

Great, that was just what she needed. It wasn't her own pain that she was worried about. Guilt did not sit well with Mila. She could be vindictive, but that was only in cases when the person deserved her wrath. Even though Nadia did somehow get the looks and popularity, as well as being their mother's favorite, Mila would never hurt her sister for it because Nadia had never done any of it on purpose. But when someone did do something directly, they got the full treatment. Physical, mental, emotional hell until she was done being angry.

**What would happen if the imprinter is rejected by imprintee is unknown, but highly unlikely as they are deemed to be a perfect match- he will be anything she may want or need, making rejection highly unlikely. Should it happen, the imprinter may feel unspeakable pain.**

And what had Embry done to her? All he had done was scare the crap out of her with something he couldn't control. If he had phased in front of her, would she have reacted that way? Probably not. Mila knew that if he had, she would have been excited, even would have tried to pet him.

So why was she so angry at him?

You're afraid, a voice that sounded a lot like her own sang out. You're afraid he'll do the usual and you'll be left feeling like a fool.

Shut up, she ordered her brain and jammed her iPod into her ears to drown out the noise. But she knew that the little voice was right. If she was going to be mean to Embry, he would have to piss her off first.

Xxx

Note: Yay, another down!

Whoo!

Um, just to throw it out there, I would like an idea-bouncer person. Just someone to share my ideas concerning this story with. It would go both ways, of course.


	10. Chapter 10

Note:

Everyone applaud the lovely, awesome hug worthy TOXIC PETALS! She took the surely strange job of being my idea bouncer. HUG HER DAMMIT! OR THE CAPS WILL TAKE UP PERMANENT RESIDENCE!

Slightly fluff (for Mila anyway) ahead and the inner ramblings of someone who has imprinted.

I asked my sister's fiancé what he thought when he looked at her. Big mistake. The man just didn't shut up for ages. So I wrote them as Embry's thoughts when he looked at Mila. Everything marked with an asterisk next to it is a quote from him. After a while, I wanted stab myself with a spork…

Remember people, it's great that you're in love, but when people's eyes start to glaze over or they grab a lamp, just shut up.

I am Trix and this has been a public service announcement.

Xxx

That same morning, Embry woke up at six. He had only slept three hours, but his body had adjusted to short sleep times. Jacob was still asleep, snoring away. If he was any louder, then the walls would come down around them. When his feet hit the floor, Embry heard the crinkle of a chip bag. The night before had turned into a small party. The floor was dirty, littered with chip bags, soda cans, candy bar wrappers, a bag of Goldfish crackers and a pudding cup.

At one point, while Nessie picked the second movie of the night, Embry had talked to Nadia about her sister. While Nadia knew little about her sister's day to day life, she had observed things that had been helpful.

After he dressed, Embry left the room. Everyone else was still asleep. The door to Nadia's room was open and he could see Nessie sleeping in Nadia's bed while Nadia was curled in a little ball on the floor, her cheek shiny with drool. The door to Mila's room was shut, but he could hear Leah snoring. He decided to go to the kitchen. Beth had told them that they could eat anything they wanted. The only condition was that they make it themselves. He took out a tube of roll and bake croissants, pancake mix, and the OJ. Over the years, Embry had learned to cook for himself. He wasn't great, but he hadn't killed himself or anyone else.

As Embry flipped the last pancake onto the serving plate, the back door banged open. Mila appeared in the kitchen, dressed in shorts and a tank top, her iPod blasting what sounded like Bon Jovi.

"You're up," she said, sounding surprised.

"Yeah," he replied. "Want a pancake?"

"No, it's cool. I have a couple Powerbars in the cabinet."

"C'mon. They're pretty good."

"Fine." Mila grabbed a plate and gave him a look that said she would save her energy for later battles. Embry followed suit and sat across from her.

When they had talked, Nadia had expressed concern for her sister's health. Apparently, Mila had been losing weight all summer.

_She's been pushing herself all summer. She eats the same, maybe more, but she looks different. It's creepy._

Now that he was closer, Embry could see what Nadia had been talking about. Mila's face was thinner than it had been in the photos, her cheekbones sticking out. There were also dark shadows under her eyes. When she reached for the syrup, her fingers flexed and he could see every bone in her hands and wrist. The rest of her was still the athletic girl the photos showed. Nadia had theorized that her breakup had brought on a bigger exercise regime. She had showed Embry Mila's Facebook, and the only sign of her ever being with someone was a news item that announced the breakup. The rest were generic status updates and wall posts. The latter had been mostly from guys arranging various games. But Embry had read every word he could get, wanting know everything he could.

Even with the dark circles and prominent bones, she was still the most beautiful girl in the world*. His own angel*. As she ate, her ponytail fell over her shoulder, and some hair escaped, falling over one eye. Embry's fingers twitched, because he wanted to brush it back.

"So where did you go?" he asked, trying to ignore the pit in his stomach that was growing and growing.

"For a run. I run the mini-trail a couple times a morning," she mumbled through a mouthful of pancake. The only reason he was able to understand her was due to years of talking to his friends this way.

"That's cool."

"If you stick around, you can run with me tomorrow."

Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. Embry had forgotten that the visit had originally been for one night only. He was supposed to leave that afternoon.

"Crap," he muttered. "I have to talk to Leah."

"Look, I don't want you to ditch her."

"Mills, I have to stay here, at least for a while. I need to be around you. If I'm not…I don't know what I'm going to do. I'll be thinking about you all the time and I'll*-."

"And I'm done," she announced and grabbed her nearly empty plate. "Look, I have work until noon. When I get back, we're going to have to set some ground rules. And for the love of Merlin, don't call me Mills."

Xxx

Note 2: Yes I feel bad for writing the inner ramblings. I had to get it out of my head.

The last one was something I overheard when they were discussing her going to LA for a while. It ends with 'I'll miss you so much [insert pet name here]. Whatever it takes, I'll stay by your side."

*hands out sporks*

Next chapter…things blow up!


	11. Chapter 11

**There were few things more depressing than an empty McDonalds at lunch hour. **

**The tiny McDonalds at the edge of Saul's Corner was empty at 11:30 am. No one had come in since 10:25 (they had started to write down when people came in back in May, when things got really bad). Mila had taken one of the stools and was reading **_**Watchmen, while two of her co-workers, sat on the floor and played Monopoly and another did her nails at one of the tables by the window. Their supervisor was passed out in the office. He had come in hungover and cranky, which was nothing new. In fact, it had gotten to the point where sober and cheery was shocking. **_

_**Business had slowed down ever since several better places had opened up. Places where the workers actually cared and were sober, places that didn't smell like nail polish and farts, places where you didn't step on game pieces or the manager. Though there had been a small spike the week after Mila bashed a former employee on the head with the fry basket. Everyone had been interested in seeing the scene of the best drama of the summer. After all, the former employee in question (Jennie) had stolen Mila's boyfriend and come on, a fry basket was a unique weapon. There was still a dent in the wall from the incident. **_

_**Jennie now worked at Chipotle, as she had quit on the spot. Mila had kept her job simply because Jack, who was the only authority figure left, had been unconscious in the closet. Plus he was too lazy to go through the paperwork that involved firing her and hiring someone else. Rob and Kris had recorded the incident and put it on youtube.**_

"_**Looks like you don't get to collect 200 dollars Robbie," Kris teased as he landed on the square. The ginger made a face and handed her the dice. **_

"_**MY NAILS SPARKLE!" Ashley shouted, causing Rob to jump and kick everything over. Mila rolled her eyes and went back to the book. They were bored, and so was she. After all, there really was nothing better to do. Mila would have quit weeks ago, but since she was moving to Port Angeles in a month, there was no point. She needed the money. It would be a while before she found a job over there and the thought of living on ramen made her queasy. **_

"_**Dude, shut up," Kris snapped. **_

"_**Let me do your nails Krissie."**_

"_**No."**_

"_**Please….I'm so bored."**_

"_**Then clean the damn bathroom!"**_

"_**It smells bad!"**_

"_**Because no one cleans it!"**_

_**Mila rolled her eyes and got up. There was no way she was going waste her him listening to this drivel. "Hey Rob, can you clock me out at noon? I'm going to go home."**_

"_**Save me," he pleaded. "They're going to try and make me pretty. I don't wanna be pretty."**_

"_**Then pretend to clean the bathroom."**_

"_**Good idea." Mila nodded at him and went to the back room to grab her bag. **_

_**Thirty seconds later, a beep sounded, making them all freeze. That was the beep that sounded whenever someone came in. The sound was so rare that it made Ashley knock over her nail polish, sending a wave of pink, glittery goo onto the table. **_

"_**Holy Gaga," Kris breathed. Standing there was a man. He was tall, maybe 6'3" with short black hair and russet colored skin. Ashley, who was the closest, could see that his eyes were brown. She ignored the slowly spreading goo that was starting to spread on her lap. **_

"_**Hi, how can we help you?" Ashley asked. **_

"_**Is Mila here?" he asked. **_

"_**She's in the back. But I can take your order!" Kris offered.**_

"_**What's happening?" Rob asked, as he was still behind the counter. **_

"_**There's a guy here looking for Mila," Kris stage-whispered.**_

"_**Are you sure?" **_

_**Mila walked back into the main and nearly tripped over Rob at the sight of her imprinter. She was too shocked to even speak for a moment. She didn't even notice the look on his face when he saw her. The others did however. His face just lit up, while she rolled her eyes.**_

"_**What are you doing here?" Mila asked. **_

"_**Nadia and Nessie dropped me off here on their way to the mall." Well, they had told him that they would joining him for lunch there and had driven away as soon as he was out of the car. Unknown to him, that had been the result of hours of brilliant planning. **_

"_**Who is this?" Kris asked. **_

"_**Embry. He's a friend of my cousin's," Mila answered. She turned to Embry. "Come on. I'll drive you back to the house." She glared at her co-workers and quickly walked out of the restaurant, Embry at her heels. Her car was parked at the far end of the lot, under a tree. She had changed out of her uniform into her usual shorts and a t-shirt. She handed Embry a bag of food when they got into the car. He peeked into the bag: a hamburger, fries and an apple pie. She drove as she ate, turning on the radio so she wouldn't have to talk to him. Today had given her a lot of time to think about what she wanted. **_

_**What she was sure about was that she didn't want a boyfriend. Only a friend. She was tired of drama and games. Mila just wanted to have fun for now. Not deal with some guy shoving his hand down her pants and calling her every hour. **_

"_**Dude, we need to talk," she said as they pulled onto her street. "About us." Embry's face lit up. "Not in that way. I want to talk about what this is and set some ground rules, okay?" He nodded. A few moments later, she pulled into the driveway. No one was home. Nadia's bug and Leah's truck were still at the house, the Bug in the driveway and the truck in front of the house. **_

_**For exactly ten seconds, the air was still. Birds chirped and the sun shone. Mila swung her backpack with every step and Embry kept his eyes on his imprint. **_

_**Then, there was a horrible roar. Mila screamed as a ball of fire exploded from the truck. As glass and metal flew at them, Embry tackled her to the ground. They rolled onto the grass, barely avoiding being cut. **_

_**As they lay there, Embry on top, and both of them breathing heavily, all Mila could say could was this:**_

"_**What the fuck?"**_


	12. Chapter 12

"Are you okay?"

"For the tenth time, yes!"

"Mills, I just want to make sure."

"Dia, I'm fine and don't call me Mills!"

Nadia reached over to fluff her twin's pillow and got a swat on the hand for her trouble. They were in Room 210 at the county hospital. While Embry had healed up by the time the cops/fire department/medics/snoops had arrived, Mila had not. She was being held overnight. The glass had cut her cheek, causing her to need stitches. Embry had tackled her pretty quickly, giving her no time to break the fall and that combined with his strength had caused her to smack her head pretty hard as well as mess up her shoulder. She would need a sling for a few days.

They had no idea why the truck had blown up. Leah was pissed and had punched the wall. ("It was my damn truck! IT WAS MY FUCKING TRUCK!") Nessie had been calm and had strangely spread that to the rest of them. Jacob had called the cops while Embry hovered over Mila, who had been forced onto the couch, despite her insistent attempts to get up and away. Beth had been 'at work' and was on her way to the hospital now. At the moment, Jacob and Nessie were at the cafeteria while Embry sat outside Mila's room. He was beside himself, shoving all the blame down his own throat.

"Do you want to see Embry? He's right outside."

"He's still out there? I thought he would have gone to get food."

"Dude, he's your…special friend. You know he can't help but stay."

"And you wonder why I think it's fucked up."

"Medication!" the nurse cheerfully sang as she waltzed into the room. She handed two pills to Mila and a cup of water. "Your boyfriend is waiting outside for you."

"Not my boyfriend," Mila retorted after she gulped the water down. "Friend."

"Honey, he hasn't moved for three hours. Trust me, he thinks of you as more than a friend."

Nadia smirked and Mila's cheeks flared pink for a moment. The nurse checked her temperature, blood pressure and etc and then left. Nadia stayed with her sister for a while longer, telling her about the mall and how much fun Nessie was.

"No offense Mila, but it's nice having someone I have things in common with around the house. And she'll be family soon, so it'll be like having a sister, only fun!"

"Wait, what? Family? Back up."

"Yeah. She's gonna marry Jake. Duh!"

Mila would have face-palmed if she could. She instead settled for rolling her eyes and asking to see Embry. Nadia squealed and all but skipped out of the room. Mila made a mental note to start slipping her twin tranquilizers. Or take away her crack pipe.

"Are you okay?" Embry asked.

"I'm fine," Mila answered. He grabbed the plastic chair that Nadia had vacated and brought it right next to her bed.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. If you hadn't been there, then it would have been worse." Mila's hand went to her cheek, where the stitches were still raw and painful. Embry winced at the sight. It hurt him as much as it hurt her, maybe even more so. His own hand went to her arm, the one not restricted by a sling. As his fingers closed around her wrist, she looked up.

"Ground rules."

"Okay." Embry let go of her arm and sat back. "Like what?"

"Well, the obvious. No…sexual contact for now. Maybe, maybe, maybe in the future. But for now, no." Mila stared at her sling, her eyes clouded over. "And please don't ramble on about what you perceive to be my perfection, the way Jake does with Nessie. I know I'm far from perfect, so it won't work."

"To me you are. That's why it happened."

Mila shot him her worst look and continued. "And please don't get all white knight. I can take care of myself." She paused, thinking about something. "So no repeats of what you did to Kyle yesterday, please."

"Sure. But I may not be able to help myself. It's now my purpose to protect you."

"It's also to give me what I want and what I want is to protect myself. Sure, if I'm like unconscious, you can do the right thing and help me, but for the most part I can handle myself."

"Why are you like this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you insist on being in control all the time? I mean, I don't have a problem with it, but I'm curious." That was true. Embry wondered why she insisted on doing everything herself. It seemed like she had no one to make her feel anything (anger didn't count, as did most other negative emotions).

"Who else is going to do it?" Mila shrugged her uninjured arm. "I take care of me."

I'll do it, he thought. From now on, he would make it his goal to make her believe that you needed other people.

Xxx

Point of clarification: Mila knows you need people to help with problems and related issues. But what she believes is that emotional health (unless one is mentally ill) falls solely on you. So you should make yourself smile, laugh, cry. Other people should have no control over emotions.

Compare and contrast with a certain 'herione' who seems to rely on others alone to be happy/sad, etc

Epic quote from The Monster Hunter's Survival Guide: Vampires do not sparkle. If you see some pale person getting all sparkly in the sunlight do not kill him. It's just some emo kid wearing body glitter.

I was talking to my dad about how Edward and Bella. He agrees that Bella is stupid and Edward is fucking crazy.

This is a man who once jumped in the Reflecting Pool back in the 60s. He was pushing 30 at the time…


	13. Chapter 13

Note: Ah this chapter brings you the wonders of pain killers. Expect a very bizarre Mila. Also I am still shocked that people like her. I still get a OMGWTF look (according to various people) whenever I get a review that says so. When I started this, I expected people to hate her for rejecting Embry, because so many stories go the other way.

Xxx

"I'm a bitch, aren't I?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because I'm wondering and you're here."

Mila turned on her side to face Leah, who was laying on the a cot across the room. It was past one in the morning and both were still awake. Mila had been released that evening instead of the next day. A bus accident and a meth lab explosion (both at the local trailer park) had taken up most of the rooms at the small hospital, booting Mila and almost everyone with minor injuries out. Mila had to be monitored to make sure she didn't slip into a coma while she slept. Embry has been the first to volunteer, but the idea had been shot down by Beth, who had done so when she saw the look on her daughter's face.

"Why do you think you're a bitch?" Leah asked. She wasn't tired, and actually gave a crap. Mila was one of few people she tolerated in the house. Embry and Jacob were in that category and she had yet to figure Beth out.

"I mean, the way I've been treating Embry is so fucked up, right?" Mila sighed and punched her pillow. "He didn't do anything wrong. Biology screwed us over. Now, we're stuck."

"Imprinting is fucked up. No matter what, whether you're with someone or not, or how old you are, once it happens, your life is devoted to another person. Forever."

"What happened to you? Who the hell pissed you off?"

"My ex imprinted on my second cousin. We dated for years and poof, it was all gone." Leah's voice took on an edge and a slightly higher pitch. "And after I phased, I had to hear about their great romance and dream about…stuff. It wasn't easy."

"Sounds awful. Well, worse than that. There aren't enough variations of shit and fuck to describe what I'm thinking."

"Try living it." The room was silent for a few minutes as both thought and Mila twisted her blanket around her fingers. "You're not a bitch. You're sane. Jumping into something is never a good idea."

"Thanks."

Mila waited until Leah's breathing had evened out before she got out of bed. She walked over to the bulletin board. She gently unpinned one from the center and used her phone's dim light to look at it. It had been on the board for so long that she had forgotten it existed. At 13, it had been one of her favorite pictures, mainly because (and she had never told a soul) Embry had made her stomach twist a new way. She didn't get that feeling until she was nearly 16 and by then, Embry was a vague memory.

Did fate exist? Mila wondered. And if it did, was she spitting in its face by saying no?

Xxx

The next morning was relatively normal for the group. Beth took Nadia, Jacob, Nessie and Embry to the grocery store since the food supply was getting low and the guests would be staying for four more days. It had been decided that when the Cullens came to get Jacob and Nessie, Leah and Embry would be joining them on their flight back to Washington. All paid for by the Cullens, as was the grocery trip and any subsequent costs. And it had only taken Nessie one flutter of her eyelashes over a webcam.

When they got back, Leah was in the living room, watching Dr Phil and making faces on the TV. She enjoyed the show, but not because she considered Dr Phil a sage. She found yelling at him a great source of stress relief.

"Where's Mila?" Embry asked.

"Upstairs," Leah answered. "She's a little out of it."

"Did she take her painkillers?" Beth asked as she walked into the room.

"Oh yeah," Leah muttered and went to help unload the groceries.

After they were done with their task, Embry went upstairs. He was going to ask Mila if she wanted to go on the picnic Nessie had organized. The door to her room was closed, but he could hear 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds' coming from inside, accompanied by Mila's off-key singing. He knocked on the door and she kept singing. He decided to go in anyway, in case she didn't hear him.

"Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies," Mila was singing as she spun around her room, crashing into her desk, her hip banging the open drawer.

"Are you okay?" Embry asked, gently grabbing her before her head met the wall.

"I am just fine," Mila said, a giant smile on her face. "I feel great Embry." Then she giggled and turned her head. Her eyes widened at the sight of his chest. As he did when he was home, Embry wasn't wearing a shirt. The same went for Jacob, though they had been asked to put them on when they went to the grocery store. "Wow. Nice." She giggled again and began to hum the chorus of the song as it ended.

"Thank you?" Embry had idea what was going on.

"You're welcome," she said and let out a loud whoop when the song changed to 'Aint No Rest For the Wicked'. He let her go, only to have to catch her when she tipped over almost immediately. "Thank you, thank you again kind sir." She bit her lip in a very endearing way that made Embry's heart pound.

"No problem."

"Can you take me downstairs? My legs seemed to be not working so good."

"Sure," Embry said and carried her downstairs. Leah, Jacob and Nessie were eating in the kitchen.

"What happened?" Nessie asked when Embry set Mila down. The woman stood for a minute and proceeded to stumble into the fridge. Twice.

"She's turned into Bella," Jacob muttered. Nessie kicked him. "Sorry babe."

"The painkillers are probably making her act weird," Leah said and went back to eating her sandwich.

"What should I do?" Embry asked.

"Just keep her in her room. That's what I did when she started acting weird."

Embry nodded and gently picked up Mila, who was too fascinated by the silverware to notice that he was breaking one of her rules. He carried her back to her room, Mila humming. When they got there, he put her down by her bed, hoping she would fall into it. He would put her there himself, but the unfortunate implications spoke for themselves. It was just his luck that now was the moment she chose to keep her balance. For a few seconds, she stood there, stock still and quiet, staring right at him. Embry had been having a difficult time already when it came to not touching her, and her staring at him with big eyes, flushed cheeks, tousled hair and lips bitten red wasn't helping him.

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked slowly.

"I don't know," she answered, shrugging. "Ooh, I love this song!"

"There's no music playing."

"Oh. Can I have a hug?"

"What?" Embry was so shocked that he was rooted to the spot.

"Hug. Please?" she dragged the second word out for an unholy amount of time. Embry just stood there for a minute. "Por favor?" He nodded and went over to her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed for a long time. His hands stayed by his sides, as he was not sure where to put them. Then, she let go, fell over and began to snore.


	14. Chapter 14

The rest of the day passed with little incident, save for some random shouting and singing from Mila's room. After Beth forced the pharmacist to listen to the insanity, he prescribed something just as effective that wasn't so strong. It seemed to work. The next day, Mila was a bit sluggish but sane. She also had no memory of the day before.

Of course, the calm didn't last very long.

It was a Monday. Nadia, Leah and several of Nadia's friends were at the pool, Beth was at work (for real) and the rest were at the house. Nessie had claimed that she didn't want to stain her clothing with sweat stains and Mila couldn't do many of her usual activities with her busted arm. Of course, Jacob and Embry chose to stay with their imprints. While Nessie and Jacob watched TV in the living room, Embry was with Mila in her room. She was organizing her things to be packed. August was less than a week away. She would be leaving Saul's Corner for Port Angeles in two weeks, which had been the soonest she could leave. Mila would be staying with Ginny Walsh, a friend of her mother's. Ginny was a semi-successful actress who lived less than a mile from campus. She had made a few movies and had a trust fund. Mila would be cooking, cleaning and feeding the cats in exchange for room and board. She would also have to put up with being called Nadia half the time. Either Ginny honestly couldn't tell the twins apart or she had smoked a lot of crack back in the day.

Neither of them had brought up them seeing each other when she had told him that she would be moving to Port Angeles. That would have to be discussed, but for now, both were content in what they were doing now: packing things up and talking like normal people.

Even if she hadn't needed to pack, Embry would have found a reason to stick as closely as he could. Now that they were sure that Mila was physically fine, he was worried about something else: the person who had blown up Leah's truck. The cause had been a simple homemade bomb placed inside the cab. The police had been unable to trace where the parts had been brought and the Dalcas had no enemies. It looked like the investigation would stall. After all, the cops weren't even sure who had been targeted. That worried Embry the most. He was now sure that someone wanted to blow his imprint up. He wasn't worried about himself. He could heal quicker than she could. The neat row of stitches on her cheek reminded him of that. If he found who did it, he would make sure that they would pay, even suffer. Embry didn't like hurting people, avoiding it whenever possible. He still had nightmares about killing the newborns.

But this was different. This concerned the center of his existence. If she was killed, Embry would never forget or forgive. He would go against his nature to avenge her. And he was fine with that.

"A little help here?" Mila asked, jerking him out of his thoughts. They had spent nearly an hour making boxes and lining them with bubble wrap. Beth had purchased so many rolls of the stuff that even if they wrapped everything she owned sans clothes and double lined the boxes, there would be enough to mummify both of them. Embry had never played with bubble wrap before and fifteen minutes had been spent popping the bubbles and eating chips. Now they were moving onto the first step: her books. She had already set aside what she would be reading until she unpacked. Due to her injury, Mila couldn't really reach for anything that was above the third shelf. There were five shelves in all. They would be starting from the top down. Embry got up and reached for the books. "Be careful with them." she reminded him as she dragged a box over. Embry remembered that the top shelf housed the Harry Potter books. "Please." He nodded and gently removed her copy of Book One. Like all the others, it looked well read. The cover was very shiny. Then he realized that the shininess was Saran Wrap.

"You really like those books huh?" Embry asked as he took down the seventh book. He noticed that the spine on that one was battered and when it fell open, he saw tear drops.

"I know I'm too old to like a kid's story, but to me it's more than that," Mila shrugged. "I mean, it teaches you things that kids could actually use in life. That life isn't fair. Good always wins. That loyalty and friendship matter. People can change. Familial love, the love between friends. Plus it's just good. Better than those stupid books my sister reads. Find a man and everything is okay. Only the bad guys suffer. But what I like the most is that-." she stopped herself.

"That makes sense,' Embry said. "What were you going to say?"

"You'll laugh."

"No I won't."

"That love is the most powerful thing there is. Familial love, the love between friends. Unrequited love. Romantic love. It's all there and it actually seems appealing." Her face softened and he wanted to put his arm around her. She looked a bit sad, but it quickly faded and she put the book in the box. "I'm gonna grab a soda. Want one?"

" Sure. I'll go get it," Embry said, but Mila shook her head.

"It's fine," she said, her voice rising a bit as she dashed out.

Mila rubbed at her pricking eyes. She felt so stupid for getting worked up in front of him. And mentioning love. That was a tender subject at the moment with the whole imprinting thing and being just friends for now. Though she didn't mind him hanging around without a shirt so much. It was nice to have something so…well made hanging around the house.

As she grabbed the sodas, she heard something from the living room. Curious, she edged closer to it.

"Why won't you kiss me?" Nessie snapped.

"You know why," Jacob sighed.

"I'm old enough. Look at me. Look at these1"

"Renesmee, you're not old enough. You know that."

"I look old enough."

"That doesn't matter. God you're so boring!"

Mila jumped away from the doorway just in time. Nessie barreled into the kitchen a second later.

"You okay?" Mila asked.

"Yeah. Your cousin is being a butthead that's all," Nessie sighed.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How old are you?"

Shock flickered across Nessie's face before she answered. "Four-sixteen."

"You're fourteen?" Mila felt like falling over.

"No," Nessie's eyes began to dart back and forth.

"Are you sixteen?"

"No."

"Then how old are you?"

"She's four." Jacob appeared from seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?" Mila shrieked. "How? What? That's not even…oh my god! Oh my god!" By then, she was screaming loud enough to summon Embry, who ran down the steps two at a time.

"Are you okay?" he asked, standing by his imprint.

"She's four! She's four! How is that possible?" Mila asked. "Did you know?"

The other three exchanged looks and Jacob chose to speak. "It's a long story. A very long story."

But he told it anyway. Somehow, he was able to squeeze the events that led to Nessie's birth, starting at Bella moving to Forks and ending with Nessie's birth, choosing to leave out the Volutri out of the story entirely. Just in case. By the end of it, Mila's face had lost all color and she looked like she was ready to faint.

"Okay. Okay," she breathed. "What the hell Jake? I know you couldn't control it, but dammit, really? At least you're being sane about it and waiting until she's old enough. But you-" Then she turned to Nessie. "How can you be with him? He wanted your mom. Your mom. That's just wrong. You're four years old! Why do you want to…god I don't even want to say it."

"It's not wrong!" Nessie protested. "Look at me. Do I look four?"

"No, but that doesn't matter. Should a thirteen year old who looks seventeen have sex? No! You have all the time in the world apparently. Wait until you're really old enough."

"I am!"

"No you're not. You're four. I don't know what's worse: a four year old wanting to have sex or the fact you want a guy who wanted your mom."

"Shut up! You shouldn't talk to me like that. Not after all I did for you!"

"What did you do?"

"I put the bomb in Leah's truck so they could stay. And if yesterday was any indication, no one minds Leah and Embry being stuck here for a while longer."

"What happened yesterday?"

"You were so hopped up on painkillers that Embry had to carry you downstairs and you were all over him."

Mila didn't reply for a while. She turned red and shoved Nessie with her good arm. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? PEOPLE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED YOU CRAZY BITCH!"

Soon, Nessie was shoving back and they started fight right there in the middle of the kitchen. The guys just stood there and prayed it didn't get too violent. Only then would they step in.

"You're an ungrateful bitch!"

"You're a freak!" Mila screamed.

Suddenly, Nessie shoved Mila to the floor and was straddling her, her hands around the older girl's neck. Embry shot Jacob a look, begging him to allow him to break up the fight. Mila was gasping and kicking, but she couldn't buck her off. Jacob nodded and Embry leapt into the fray. He was able to easily pull Nessie off Mila. The half-vampire was still in fight mode and landed a rather serious punch to his face and scratched him on the neck. Mila stood up, her legs shaking. She coughed and gagged for a while before she spoke.

"I need to get out of here," she said before running out of the kitchen and out the back door. "And don't follow me."


	15. Chapter 15

Note: This arc has me updating like mad, huh?

On a more serious note, I do understand that Nessie is mentally and physically 16 or so by now. But Meyers never wrote about emotional maturity. For all we know, she is emotionally 12 or 7 or even 4. Have you ever met someone who was a genius or pretty close to it but when it came to social situations or even everyday life they acted like a kid (or teenager depending on their age)? Any fans of the Big Bang Theory out there? If there are any, think Sheldon. Mental IQ through the roof. Emotional IQ…not so much.

I also asked several people, most of them under 16, what they would do to someone's car to keep them from leaving for a while. And you would be surprised how many people said to blow it up or some variant. Remember, engines can be fixed and tires replaced. And that Nessie would be that extreme because her parents did things to the extreme. Remember New Moon anyone?

Xxx

Leah and Nadia came back from the pool twenty minutes after the fight. In the chaos that had been caused by the arguing, no one had noticed the sky growing darker and the clouds gathering. A storm was coming and it was almost there. Embry had nearly launched himself out the door so he could find Mila, but Nadia had held him back. Mila had sent her a text telling her to tell the rest not to look for her. The following message also said where she would be, just in case there was an emergency, but Nadia refused to share that. Jacob called a meeting in the living room before Embry could run off and try and find her himself.

"What's this all about?" Leah asked from her seat.

"Before I tell you, do you remember out most important law?" Jacob said.

"Don't harm another shifters imprint," she replied, narrowing her eyes. "What did Nessie do now?"

"Why do you assume it's me?" Nessie cried.

"If Mila had done something, Embry would have said it."

"What's going on?" Nadia asked, raising her hand. "I assume this has something to do with why there's a dent in the dishwasher and why my sister's gone."

"Sort of. We know who blew up your truck Leah." Jacob took a deep breath. "It was Nessie. But her intentions were good."

"That was my dad's truck," Leah's words were loaded with venom. If looks could kill, Nessie would be a pile of pixie dust or whatever hybrids turned into when they were killed. "Why the hell did you do it? Do you even know what consequences are?"

"I was only trying to help. Mila was being so mean to Embry and I thought that if you were stranded for a while, it would give them the opportunity to get closer," Nessie said. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. And my dad can buy you a new truck anyway. So what's the big deal?"

Leah just glared, amazed someone could be that dense, and walked away before she attacked. A few moments later, they heard the door to the laundry room slam and the sound of things being kicked. Nessie looked at Jacob with puppy dog eyes and Nadia left the room, wishing that she had a beer. She didn't drink that often, but in situations like these made her want to vacate her brain. Embry decided to follow her upstairs. He planned to finish up packing away Mila's books.

As he taped up the box they had been working on, Nadia came in and sat on the bed, which was covered in bubble wrap.

"What actually happened?" Nadia asked. "I want details."

Embry started with them packing and moved onto the actual argument. He ended up giving her a three sentence version of Nessie's history, which didn't shock Nadia as much as he thought it would. When he got to Nessie telling Mila what she had done while doped up on painkillers, Nadia held up her hand and sighed.

"I am about to tell you a story Embry. It may help you understand my sister a little better. May I begin?"

Embry nodded and Nadia began to speak.

"I believe that Mills' abandonment issues began with our father, who left when we were kids. Why is a mystery to myself, my mother and Mila. We know his name and that we share some of his physical characteristics. While I was able to move on and get over said issues, I don't think Mila did, at least not fully.

"Anyway, we grew up and entered high school. While I started dating right away, Mila chose to study and play sports. She had guy friends by the buckets, but they were never anything more. So when Ben Gallagher asked her out, I was as shocked as the rest of the school when she said yes. This happened a month before our 16th birthday. I remember that she got dressed up. It was March and really warm. She borrowed one of my dresses and a pair of my heels. She was so excited that it scared me a bit.

"What we didn't know was that the group Ben hung out with were playing a game of sorts. Lets just say that girls and their favors were points. I don't know what happened that night, but Mila came up with mud on my dress, a broken heel and a bruise on her face. The next day at school, I saw that Ben's car window had been broken. I put it together really quick."

Embry swallowed and clenched his fists. The meaning was veiled but to him it was very clear to him. "Did he-?"

"No. If he had, she would have pressed charges or something. But yet again, as I said, I don't really know what happened. All I do know is that she wasn't the same for a while. She didn't leave the house except for school or game and she flipped out when you snuck up on her. So when Kyle asked her out last year, I thought 'finally, she's moved on'. But you know how that went."

"What happened to that Ben guy?" Embry asked.

Nadia's face broke out into an evil grin. "After I found out about the game, I took matters into my own hands. Let's just say it was elaborate and time-consuming and to this day Ben has a phobia of barn animals, chili and Silly String." Her grin faded as the first rumble of thunder sounded. Nadia drew back the curtains. It was starting to rain heavily and the sky had completely darkened. "Shit." Nadia grumbled and pulled out her phone. She hit a few buttons and brought the phone to her ear. "Mills, you have to come home!" Embry leaned in to hear her reply. All he could hear was static. Nadia glared at the device and hung up after another minute of screaming into it.

"Want a chance to play hero?" she asked.

"Yes," Embry nodded.

"She's at this fort we used to play in. It's in the woods, about a mile and a half in in. I think. I haven't been there in ages. The place is falling apart and she'll stay because she's an idiot."

Embry nodded and was outside in less than a minute. The woods were at the very edge of the property and he stood there, trying to sniff her out. The apple/cinnamon scent was there, but faint. He could barely tell where it was coming from the southeast area. He began to run, but the other smells of the woods overwhelmed him and her scent was almost lost. Lightning flashed and he could hear the sound of a branch cracking and breaking. Fear struck him and the worst case scenario flashed though him mind.

_Mila pinned under wooden boards, Mila struck by lightning, Mila bleeding._

There was only one thing he could do.

The change was quick as always. The smell returned, overriding the rain, dirt, leaves and wood. Embry found the fort quickly. The place had a hole in the roof and the door was hanging off its hinges. He was able to quickly get inside and found Mila right in the main room, hiding under a tarp hanging between two poles. Her sling was wet and the bandage was unraveling. Embry padded over to her. Mila backed away a bit, exposing herself to the rain. He whimpered and rolled on his back, exposing his belly.

"Embry?" she asked, scooting closer. He nodded and rolled over. She held out her hand and he eagerly licked it. Mila yanked her hand away and smiled. "Did Nadia send you?" He nodded she reached to stroke his fur. He made an eager whine and jerked his head toward the door. "Are you crazy? You are not a pony." She stood and made her way towards the back. "There's a room back here. Crawling with spiders though." She visibly shuddered at the thought and Embry butted his head against her dangling hand, as a way of telling her it was going to be okay. She nodded idly stroked his fur.

Somehow, she felt calm for the first time in hours. Like it was going to be okay.


	16. Chapter 16

Note:

Sorry this is so late. School is madness and I'm dealing with the Bridezilla on a daily basis. I've been hit three times in one weekend with a bridal mag. Weddings are not fun to plan. Especially when the wedding is in two or three years

And when she's not abusing me with half the magazine rack at Borders, she's moping because he's not attached to her side 24/7.

Screw it, I'm getting hitched in Vegas when the time comes. Dammit, why is my sister marrying someone normal? Why couldn't she find someone as crazy as she is and run off to some far off place like she said she would. I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD HAVE TO SUFFER THROUGH THIS MADNESS EVER!

Ok, I'm done

Xxx

The ball sailed through the air, hitting the top of the goal post. Several of the players swore and a beefy boy with blond hair easily took control of the ball and began to steer it to the other side of the field. A group of people, mostly girls and young women, sat on a blanket several feet from the game, cheering the players on and listening to the radio. One of them handed Embry a Coke.

The Tuesday hockey game had been changed to soccer, partially because of Mila's injury but mostly because there was room for the girls that the guys wanted to impress to sit. Nadia and Nessie were on one of the blankets, though they weren't talking. The incident the day before had caused some distance, as was expected. Jacob, Leah and Mila were playing, the girls on one team and Jacob on the other. The score was tied and the game was nearly over.

Embry watched Mila run after the ball, slightly apart from the rest. She wore shorts and a tank top, like most of the other girls. Her face was impassive, but her eyes gleamed with the thought of victory. Leah was on defense, and had taken four men and boys down in the game. One was even limping. Jacob was concentrating on Nessie, who was waving every now and then.

Like his friend, Embry only had eyes for his imprint.

Her hair had fallen out of her ponytail and she had shoved someone out of her way very subtly. He fell into the mud with a splash and she smirked.

"Are you like with her?"

A girl with short blond hair had posed the question. She was sitting on the blanket next to him, chewing gum and chatting with her friends, who were staring at him as well, creeping Embry out juts a little bit.

"With who?" he asked.

"Mila Dalca. Duh. You've been staring at her for the whole game," the blond pointed out.

"We're just friends," Embry said quickly. The girls giggled.

"Yeah right! Dude, friends don't stare at friends that way." The blond popped her gum. "Ask her out at your own risk."

"Why?"

"She's nuts." This was met with nods and mummers of agreement.

She's amazing, Embry thought as he turned back to the game in time to see her score a goal. The ball sailed through the air, and landed. A second later, time ran out, signaling victory for Mila's team. A smile broke out on her face and she thrust her fist in the air. Leah grinned as well and rushed up to her. The two girls hugged for a second before the guys swept them up in their victory dance and cheers. Jacob clapped both girls on the back and said something that sounded like 'good game'. Mila ran up to Embry as the cheers began to die down.

"Did you see that? Scored a goal from the middle of the fucking field! That's a borderline miracle, considering what happened a couple days ago," she said, the huge grin still on her face. She grabbed his arm and dragged him away. "C'mon lets get some tacos. Goddamn that was awesome!"

Embry let her drag him. It was slightly emasculating to be dragged across a park by a girl half a foot shorter than him who was acting like a certain pixie on crack. But she was happy and that was what mattered at the moment.

The sun came out from behind a cloud. It seemed to focus on her and all he could do was stare. Her hair shone red in the light, and most of it had fallen out of the ponytail. She was smudged with dirt and grass, her stitches still marring her cheek. But she was still beautiful and all he could do was stare.

Meanwhile…

"Where are we headed again?"

"Saul's Corner. To be specific, we are headed to Elizabeth Dalca's house. Do you ever pay attention Bella?"

"Rose, be nice. We're almost there."

Rosalie mentally hit her head against the window and sighed. According to the GPS, they were less than five minutes away from their destination. She couldn't wait. Three hours in a car with Bella was two hours and fifty-five minutes too long for her. Their husbands were staying in New York. The women were supposed to come two days later and merely pick up Nessie and Jacob and spend some time in DC before the couple left for La Push. Thanks to a type of foundation, they were able to go out in the sun without looking like disco balls. Granted they had to coat themselves in the stuff every day, but it was a small price to pay. She was able to get away from certain people for longer periods of time now, which made things a lot less tense at the house these days.

"I think I see the house," Alice said and two seconds later, they were pulling into the driveway. "I don't hear anybody."

"I do," Bella said. "They're coming from that way."

And indeed they were. An El Camino with rust spots pulled in behind them. Two people were crammed into the front and four were sitting in the bed, all of them chattering away, one girl waving her arms.

"Is that-?" Rosalie began, but Bella cut her off.

"Jacob!" she squealed and ran up to the group.

Xxx

Note: Sorry about this one….

Next chapter, Bella bashing, Rosalie being awesome and Alice being Alice.


	17. Chapter 17

Note: Just to let everyone know, I actually like Alice. As she is my third favorite female in the series, I will up her brain power just a bit. Psychics are very observant people, even the fake ones.

That being said, as the first part of the chapter is from Mila's POV, she will be painted as sweet, but a bit creepy. You'll see why. When my sister saw the movie, she was creeped out. Granted, everything about the series freaks her out (and she has no idea about how Bella's pregnancy went. I'm saving that for when she really pisses me off.)

Xxx

"He loves you. Very much."

Mila jumped and dropped her can of soda. Alice grabbed it before it hit the floor and handed it back to her. The younger woman didn't even blink at that, just took her soda and opened it. "Thanks. And what do you mean by that?"

"Embry cares a great deal about you Mila."

"Well duh, he has to. Imprinting makes him care."

"That upsets you, doesn't it?"

"Generally people being forced into things against their will upsets me." Mila clenched her jaw and Alice cocked her head.

"You're going to be happy with this one day."

"I doubt it."

Mila grabbed a bag of chips and went back into the living room, where Bella and Embry sat. Considering the former, she almost wanted to run away with the latter.

She had always wondered if stupidity was nature or nurture. She knew people who weren't very smart but it didn't really show because they tried and appeared average as a result. She also knew people who were smart but dumbed themselves down to fit in. Hell, she lived with one. Nadia wasn't as dumb as she appeared. Rather than find porn or weed under her twin's mattress, Mila had once found a copy of 'Notes from Underground'. And it looked well read. Nessie wasn't stupid, as she had managed to make a fucking bomb without anyone noticing. She had never met anyone who was stupid in all meanings of the word.

Until right now.

So far, all Bella had done was stare (it was creeping her out), talk about her husband and fawn over Nessie, when the psycho had been in the room. Nessie, Nadia and Jacob had gone to get chicken and Rosalie was unpacking up in the attic. For some reason, Mila had expected Nessie's mother to at least have some brains. After all, the vampires she had read about were intelligent beings.

And then this one came along.

"So, what do you do?" Mila asked awkwardly.

"Edward likes to travel. So I go places. Um, I listen to music. I read."

Oh thank God, Mila thought. "What's your favorite book?"

"Wuthering Heights and Romeo and Juliet are my favorites. It's just like me and Edward!"

Mila was barely able to suppress a whimper and couldn't help but smack herself on the head with her palm. While the play and book that had just been mentioned were excellent, they were far from being romantic role models. One was a tale of idiotic teenagers with ADD and the other was a tale of incest and revenge.

"How? Is he your brother? Did you get married when you were 13?" Mila fired.

"Ew no! Why would you say that?"

"Because that's what happens in the books."

"No! They're wonderful stories!"

Embry put a hand on his imprint's shoulder, and she glared at him , shaking it off. Rosalie poked her head into the room to inform Bella that she needed to unpack. Mila let out an audible sigh of relief when Bella left the room.

"Don't care for her, do you?" Rosalie asked when Bella reached the attic.

"What it that obvious?" Mila asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah," Rosalie nodded. "Don't worry. It flies right over her head."

"Is she…'special'?"

"You would think so. But no. average, to the point to deadly boring."

Xxx

Note: Sorry about this chapter. I have terrible writer's block and just…AHHHHHH!

Help me… please.


	18. Chapter 18

Why did it have to be my house? Beth thought as she brought in the last of the silverware, following Alice, who had been kind enough to help her with plates. Even though Alice, Rosalie and Bella wouldn't be eating, there still was enough food for a small army: 3 buckets of chicken, the large sizes of mashed potatoes, coleslaw, mac and cheese, rice and a box of French fries. Why, why, why my house?

Three vampires, two shape-shifters (one of whom was her nephew), and a…person that defied the laws of biology and sexual education (aforementioned nephew's fiancée) were at her table, along with her daughters, one of who was all but married to the shape-shifter that wasn't related to them. She cursed herself for ever suggesting that Jacob come visit. In less than a week, there had been an explosion, an imprinting, several fights, a lot of screaming and a very large food bill.

Beth sat between Bella and Alice. The former was a disappointment. She had expected so much more from Charlie's daughter. Beth had known Charlie and Renee when they were younger. She had been a guest at their wedding and had even babysat Bella when she was a newborn. While she had barely known Renee, Beth had considered Charlie one of her closest friends, and he had been the only non related person she regretted leaving behind. She had expected Charlie's daughter to be at least something like her father: smart, loyal, sweet, or at least have his sense of humor. But no, she was little more than a doll. At least the other two had personality. They actually reminded Beth of her daughters.

"How's your father?" Beth asked Bella.

"Charlie? Um…I don't know." Bella answered, staring into space.

"When was the last time you talked?"

"Years ago. Edward and I decided it would be best if I cut off contact. To be safe."

Beth just stared.

Why? She wanted to ask. How could she be so calm about abandoning her father? Beth still tortured herself over what she had done over twenty years ago, even though it had eventually worked out. But she had chosen to stay away and this girl was letting her husband take her away.

"I know your father. When we were young."

"Really?"

The conversation didn't progress beyond that. Beth wanted to talk about the past with someone who could talk back. To her daughters, they were merely stories about a time before she got stretch marks and Billy was in a wheelchair. But Bella knew these people and Beth was sure that she probably knew nothing about Charlie. It was a damn shame, she mused. Charlie had loved his little girl. Certainly more than she loved him.

Xxx

"C'mon hurry up."

"I'm coming."

"Be careful. I don't want to wake anyone else up."

Mila put her hands on her hips and glared up at her window. She had insisted on going first and was now regretting it. Embry was taking forever to get down and she was on the verge of smacking him with a rake until he tumbled down. And she would have if it wasn't one in the morning and stealth was what they were aiming for.

They were sneaking out of the house to go to a meadow located on the other side of the woods. But unlike certain people , they were actually going to the meadow observe nature. At this hour, the fireflies were going to swarm in the meadow and Mila wanted to photograph the sight before she left. And in the spirit of friendship, she had invited Embry to go with her. Leah was a heavy sleeper, or was very good as pretending. They had snuck out her window, walked along the edge of the roof and Mila had maneuvered onto a nearby tree and climbed down. Embry had just jumped off the roof.

"Do you want to walk?" he asked as they entered the woods.

"It's only a half hour walk," Mila replied, fiddling with her camera strap.

"I can get us there faster. Hop onto my back."

Mila stopped walking and cocked her head. She then shoved her camera into her backpack and nodded. "Only to save time." That was true. Mila knew the patterns of the fireflies, having studied them for years. They were at their peak between one and two in the morning on Wednesdays. There would be hundreds just swarming, lighting up the meadow.

When she was 17, she had stumbled into the meadow one night, and had been captivated by the lights, officially deciding they were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Granted, she had been pretty high at the time, but the effect was still the same when she was sober. When Embry started, she nearly fell off and tightened her arms around his neck. He was insanely warm and if she didn't know what he was, she would have made him down a bottle of Motrin or something.

They reached the meadow before she could form another thought. She hopped down and took out her camera. She turned to see the sight.

Hundreds of yellow lights swarming.

"Isn't it lovely?" she sad softly, a dreamy smile on her face. Embry felt a twinge in his chest. He had seen that smile on other faces. Emily's whenever she looked at Sam, Jacob when he looked at Nessie, you get the idea. He was jealous of the bugs because they were making her happy and he couldn't. At least not yet. Embry sat on the ground and watched her. She darted to and fro for nearly twenty minutes, her camera clicking and the sound of her feet hitting the ground.

"Have you ever caught a firefly?' she asked, suddenly appearing n front of him.

"What?" he asked, not sure if he had heard her right.

"Have you ever caught a firefly?" she repeated. To complete her statement, she created an oval with her hands and cupped them over a firefly. He could see the glow in her hands.

"I guess I have," he shrugged.

"My mom taught me how when Dia and I were kids." Mila opened her hands and it flew away.

"My mom taught me how to fish." Embry blurted out, wanting to keep the conversation going.

"Really? I always thought dads did that."

"I don't have one."

Mila just stared for a moment before sitting next to him. "Me neither. Mine left."

"Mine was never around. I don't think so."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know who he is. My mom never told me."

Mila nodded, knowing that he didn't want to answer any deeper questions. The knowledge came first hand. In a small town were nuclear families were the norm, it hadn't been easy being the daughter of a single mother. By the time she hit puberty, Mila had been ready to snap the neck of the next person who asked about her father.

"Huh," she muttered. "Looks like we have something in common."

Xxx

Today marks the day I was born.

You can give me the sweet gift of REVIEWS!


	19. Chapter 19

Note: Thank you every one who wished me a happy birthday!

Xxx

"Uh-huh. No I understand. I can find something, I think. If I don't I'll call you. Yeah. Bye. Take care."

With a sigh, Mila hung up the landline and slumped against the kitchen wall. Her mother's friend, Ginny, had just called. Apparently she had landed a role in a rather big movie, and would need to go to Southeast Asia for filming. She would leave in a few weeks, and return in the late winter, maybe early spring. Since Mila would be staying in her apartment slightly illegally, she would not be able to stay there. This meant she would somehow have to find a place to live in less than a couple weeks.

And there was only one other option.

Mila hadn't been to the reservation since she was 13. Her memories were clear, assisted by the many pictures she had taken when she had visited. She hadn't wanted to leave, nearly begging her mother to let her stay or at least move during the summer. Of course, Beth had wanted to keep her by her side, but had promised that they would visit again. They hadn't, due to life getting the way.

Looks like I'm going to get my wish, Mila thought grimly.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked, causing Mila to jump. The pixie sized vampire had appeared out of nowhere.

"Kinda," Mila said, offering her a slight smile. She liked Alice, since she was peppy without being annoying and was just so damn sweet, not even she could say anything bad. Rosalie and Mila got along famously, especially when they had been forced to watch Jersey Shore the day before. They had traded snaky comments about the cast, the commercials and Bella. They were planning to watch some bad movies later and to the same. "I just got some bad news."

"Oh, you poor thing!" Alice gave her a hug that nearly squeezed the breath out of Mila. "Sorry."

"It's not so bad," Mila added and quickly explained the situation. There was just something about both Alice and Rosalie had made her trust them. It wasn't some sort of vampire mind fuck thing, since their powers didn't extend to that. Snark and beauty were Rosalie's while Alice could see the parts of the future that could be changed and was able to make nearly any human feel at ease.

"That's good news, isn't it?" Alice queried. "Now you can spend more time with Embry."

"I didn't think about that."

"It'll be wonderful. Now you can take walks on the beach, run around in the meadow, snuggle by a bonfire…"

"Calm down Alice. She's not interested in him," Rosalie said as she walked into the room.

"But she's his imprint. They're soul mates! Like Nessie and Jake, me and Jasper, you and Emmett!"

"Vampires have soul mates?" Mila asked, slightly lost.

"Yeah. I knew who it would be for years. One night, I walked into a diner and there he was!" Alice said cheerfully. "And Rose actually rescued Emmett from a bear. He woke up and said she was an angel. Isn't that romantic?"

"Was he fighting the bear or something?"

"Yeah. He's nuts like that," Rosalie said, but she was smiling at the thought of her husband.

It must be nice to have that, Mila thought. She would rather prefer that than what she sort of had. Alice and Rosalie had chosen their husbands. Some weird cosmic joke hadn't forced them to be together, they actually loved each other. "Hey guys, what's up?" Jacob cheerfully greeted them, Nadia and Nessie behind him.

"What is this place? Grand Central Station?" Mila asked no one in particular. "Hey Jake, I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure," he said. She led him to the living room, where they could still hear the sounds of Grand Central Kitchen. Despite the fact that only she and Nadia could eat, Nessie wanted pancakes and Alice was asking if anyone wanted to hit the outlet malls that were an hour away. "What is it?"

"Yeah, sure. I just needed to ask you something," she said and told him about Ginny's phone call. "I was wondering if I could stay with you and your dad on the reservation. I'll help out with expenses when I get a job and of course I'll do chores and stuff. You think your dad would go for it?"

"You're family Mills. Of course he would. Besides, Nessie and I are hitting the road for a while. He would want the company."

"Great." A relieved smile broke out on her face. "That's a load off my mind. Thanks Jacob."

"No problem. Besides, even if you couldn't stay at my dads, you'd have a place at the rez anyway."

"Why?"

"You're Embry's imprint. He would do anything to make sure you have a place to stay. Remember…"

"Only the imprintee is left to matter and his only concern, aside from the pack, are my needs and wants. Yeah, I know."

"You had a crush on him when we were kids. So what changed?"

"You knew?" Mila gasped, her face turning a bright red.

"You did? I was taking a shot in the dark when I said that. You like him, you like him."

"No I don't!"

"Mila and Embry, sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Shut up!"

Xxx

Note: Yeah, sorry it's so short. But coming up next….ROAD TRIP TO FORKS/LA PUSH!

Would anyone object to a little Beth/Charlie loving? It would come later in the story, but come one, Charlie needs some lovin'. Him and his pimping mustache.


	20. Chapter 20

_First, fireflies and now Edward freaking Cullen. Embry was becoming disturbed by the things that were making him jealous. _

_At the moment, Mila was actually howling with laughter. She had been rolling on the floor until Nadia had helped her up and was on the living room sofa, tears rolling down her face. So far, she hadn't said much, only 'disco ball' and 'fairy'. Nessie and Bella did not look amused, while Emmett, Leah and Jacob did. Rosalie was trying very hard not to show emotion while Nadia just stared at Edward, her eyes wide. Beth was sitting on the couch as well, probably wishing for some vodka and an empty house. Jasper and Alice were…somewhere, most likely hiding from this mess. _

_The Cullen men had arrived that morning, in two giant vans. They were providing the transportation for the road trip that was to begin tomorrow. They were heading for the West Coast in said vans. Mila's things were being sent separately, and would be there before they arrived. Back to the original point, the Cullen men had arrived very early in the morning. While Emmett and Jasper had snuck up to the attic to visit their wives, Edward had decided to make breakfast for the humans and human hybrid. As he had started to make omelets, Mila had come back from her run. The sight of a stranger had made her panic and hit him with the nearest object: a chair. It didn't hurt him and the shock of this had given Edward time to explain who he was. _

_Then, he stepped in front of the window and begun to sparkle. _

_Apparently he had forgotten his foundation._

_For a moment, Mila had been in shock. Then, she had begun to laugh and hadn't stopped since. The noises had brought everyone downstairs. _

"_Don't laugh!" Bella snapped after a loud cackle._

"_But he's glittery…" Mila said in-between gasps. _

"_That's the skin of a killer."_

_That was a bad move, since it set Mila into another fit. Emmett began to laugh with her and Nessie stomped her foot at her uncle's immaturity. Embry stared at his imprint, wishing he could make her laugh like that. Stupid disco ball leech. At least she wasn't staring at him the way Nadia was. The thought of her and Edward in any sort of friendly way made him want to rip the vampire apart. _

"_Calm her down," Edward ordered Jasper, who had popped into the room while Embry was thinking. "We're going shopping soon."_

_The shopping trip had been arranged the day before. Mila needed some new things and the rest just wanted to shop, so most of the group was going to the mall, which opened at eight. Jacob and Embry had volunteered to load the U-Haul when it arrived and would meet them later._

"_Fine," Jasper rolled his eyes and soon the laughter trailed off. Mila hopped off the couch a moment later to change and soon everyone else scattered. Embry was one of the last to leave and was stopped by Edward. _

"_You need to control your imprint," he said in a soft, yet menacing voice. _

"_Excuse me?" Embry asked. _

"_I did not enjoy being laughed at."_

"_The rest of us did. Wait, how did you…"_

"_I read your mind Embry. Control her next time."_

"_Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I couldn't. Mila won't even accept the imprint for the most part. If I try to control her in any way, she'll kick me in the balls. And that hurts man."_

"_In between her insults, she thought about you. Apparently your body interests her at least. Not that there's much else."_

_Embry glared and left the room before he could say anything that would make him look like the animal Edward considered him to be. _

_Xxx_

_**blood rushes to my ears **_

_**(and other places, never my face)**_

_**when I see him.**_

_**tall, almost inhumanely so. **_

_**strong, with a predator's purpose.**_

_**his eyes are two dark pools**_

_**that I wouldn't mind taking a dive in.**_

_**wouldn't mind those crushing arms around me,**_

_**pinning me to (any) surface. **_

_**foreign want rushes in place of blood**_

_**and all I can see in my mind's eyes**_

_**is a dark head resting on my **_

_**torso, **_

_**belly,**_

_**thighs,**_

_**and calloused hands on my hips, **_

_**shoulders, **_

_**arms. **_

_**all I want is to feel another heart **_

_**thundering against mine.**_

_**but only if its**_

_**free**_

_Embry had no idea what to make of the poem he held in his hands. At least he thought it was a poem. He hadn't really paid attention during English class, preferring math and gym. And now it was coming back to bite him on the ass. _

_It was nine in the morning now. The only people in the house were Jacob and Embry. The rest had left, Beth for work and the others for the mall. The U-Haul had left not long ago and Embry had gone back to Mila's room to get his phone, which he had left in Mila's room, on her desk to be exact. There hadn't been much left, just what remained in the junk drawer. He had seen a bag of Charms Blow Pops and had decided to snag one. Mila had promised both men that they had could eat anything they found in her room. Jacob had already taken her potato chips and Embry wanted something sweet anyway. _

_The bag had been under the piece of notebook paper he now held. _

"_You ready?" Jacob asked. _

"_Yeah," Embry muttered. _

"_What's that?"_

"_A poem. I think."_

"_Let me see." Jacob said and then took it. He actually knew something about poetry, since during what they now called 'the era of Bella', he had paid attention in English, in an attempt to impress her. He had come out top of their class twice, even doing a book report on Wuthering Heights, which everyone and their mother knew was Bella's favorite book. "It is a poem. A dirty poem. Who wrote this?"_

"_Mila."_

_Jacob paled and threw the offending piece of paper on the ground. "MY EYES! MY BRAIN! I NEED BLEACH!" _

"_Why?"_

"_I just read a sex poem my freaking cousin wrote about my best friend. I'm going to be in therapy until I'm 30."_

"_It's about me? Cool."_

"_THAT'S ALL YOU CAN SAY?" Jacob shuddered and left the room. "Let's go. Maybe an Orange Julius will cleanse my brain."_

_Embry smirked, and lost it. He carefully put the poem back where he had found it. He now felt terrible for invading her privacy and if she found out, she would surely reenact a scene from Friday the 13th__ or something. He didn't want to be bent in half. Though he was a little happy. If that poem was about him, he was making progress. _

_At the mall…._

"_Try this on."_

"_No."_

"_Come on! It'll go great with your skin tone."_

"_It's too revealing."_

"_It'll look great."_

"_No."_

_Alice sighed and rolled her eyes. At the moment, she was standing in a Hot Topic with Mila, Rosalie and Bella, whose idea it had been to come here. Maybe she was nostalgic for the days she actually had something to be emo about. The guys were at GameStop, much to Edward's chagrin. They had lost Nessie and Nadia, though the former was probably at Macy's and the latter in Bath and Body Works. Anyway, Alice had been trying to get Mila to try on a green dress she had found but it wasn't working. Mila was looking through the clearance rack t-shirts, hoping to find a Gryffindor shirt one of her friends said she had seen. _

"_She's not a Barbie Alice," Rosalie droned. _

"_I know. But she has so much potential," Alice chirped and put the dress back. "Plus, she's going to be living right by her imprinter."_

"_I can hear you!" Mila cheerfully called from the racks. Bella didn't join in, too busy staring at the shiny jewelry, a vaguely stoned look on her face. _

"_It doesn't matter what she looks like. He's going to like her anyway," Rosalie reminded Alice, who now bounded towards Mila carrying a green and purple top with thin straps, black skinny jeans and what looked like a Catholic school girl outfit. Of course, Rosalie knew her sister wasn't really playing dress up for the fun. Alice liked to give makeovers because they made the people getting them feel good afterwards. Well, most people felt better. They got a boost of self esteem and Alice felt like she had done a good deed. Everybody won. _

_As she browsed through the (unrealistic) corset tops, Rosalie caught a scent and nearly growled. The mutts were nearby. Her suspcioins were confirmed when Embry walked into the door and made a beeline for them. Though, she did tolerate him more than the others, and compared to Jacob, she actually liked him. _

"_She's in the fitting room." she told him. A moment later, Mila walked out, wearing the jeans and the top. Alice was smirking, knowing she had won. It was a tactic that worked very well. Put something they hated in the pile so they would have to try on the clothes Alice wanted them to wear. Rosalie to admire her sister's cunning. _

"_I feel like a snake is squeezing me to death," Mila grumbling as she pushed something back into her top. _

"_You look great!" Alice said._

"_Really? She looks like she's about to bust out of those clothes Hulk style."_

_The speaker was a girl about their age, with short blond hair. She stood a few feet away, a gleam in her eyes. Behind stood what had to be her posse, three girls who looked equally vapid. Embry recognized her as the girl from the soccer game who had told him that Mila was crazy._

"_I'm not getting into this with you Jennie," Mila said. _

"_Who's she?" Alice asked._

"_We used to be friends." Mila said. _

"_Then she hit me with a fry basket," Jennie snapped. _

"_You stole my boyfriend."_

_Bella chose now to speak, gasping like a soap opera character. _

_Everyone stared at her. _

_Xxx_

_Note:_

_Can vampires gasp?_

_I have no idea._

_Review please. _

_Next chapter…was there a cat fight? How does Mila really feel about what happened between her and Jennie? Will Bella fall down?_

_Again, review and check out my other work._

_Love, ms. crazy_


	21. Chapter 21

Note: I just realized that I did not mention where Leah was at the mall. I must have deleted that sentence by accident.

If anyone was curious, she was at the Borders.

Don't worry, there will be lots of Leah once they get to La Push. Which should be soon.

Xxx

Mila shut the door to the dressing room and sank to the floor.

There was no way she way she was going out there while Jennie was still there. While she could deal with a lot of things, Jennie was something else all together. Mila was afraid of beating the organs out of her former friend or crying. The latter was worse, because at least she would be seen as a badass in some circles if she beat Jennie up. Crying would just make her lose face.

For a while, Jennie had been her friend, and at work, her best friend. She had known that Kyle and Mila had been a couple, and she had still gone after him. The news of what had gone down at the prom had spread quickly. Mila had found out when someone she barely knew had posted a link on her wall. The link had been to a Youtube video of the couple banging in a limo. Needless to say, Mila had been scarred for life and the next day had been the fry basket incident.

Mila didn't have any female friends. Most of her female high school friends had gone to college out of state and she had drifted apart from the rest. So when she had seen the video, it had felt like she had been hit in the stomach with a 2 by 4 or by a moped. Both had happened and the feeling was much, much, worse.

So she was going to hide in here until Jennie was gone.

Out in the store, Jennie was waiting for Mila to come out. She pretended to be shopping, but everyone could tell that she was just waiting for another chance to play the Libby. Well, everyone but Bella.

"Don't you have to meet Kyle at the food court?" one of Jennie's minions asked her. She was silenced with a glare.

"She can't stay in there forever," Jennie muttered. A normal person wouldn't have heard her. But Rosalie, Alice, Embry and probably Bella did. They all exchanged looks and Rosalie was the one to take care of things. The clerk wasn't paying attention. He was dozing at the counter. Embry would have, but his threatening Jennie or appearing to would have a million unfortunate implications. Plus Rosalie could be scary. Alice had always suspected that her true power was scaring people while looking totally normal.

"Go. Now," Rosalie instructed in a low voice.

"Why?" Jennie asked.

Rosalie just smiled and kept it as she spoke. "Mila happens to be someone I actually like, rather than tolerate. And you are spoiling a perfectly good afternoon out. So just go and stuff your face with food you're going to make yourself vomit anyway. That sound good?"

It worked. Jennie was soon gone

Xxx

At the house, Beth had taken to her room. Dr Phil was on TV, though she was focusing more on her Bloody Mary than the large headed 'doctor'. It wouldn't be long until she was free of the madness. All they needed was a ghost or a unicorn. Beth looked over her shoulder to make sure there wasn't one in her room.

Her phone rang as the theme song played. Before she answered, she closed her eyes and prayed that it wasn't the mall or even local police.

"Hello?"

"Lizzie?"

Beth nearly dropped her phone. "Charlie?"

"Yeah. Is this a bad time?"

"No, no. how did you get this number?"

"Billy gave it to me. I heard Bella was visiting you."

"She's at the mall now. All of them are."

Beth began to chew her lip, her heart pounding and her palms sweating. She had been head over heels for Charlie as a teenager, not that she had told anyone. She always suspected that her sister had known, but Sarah had never said anything. There was a squeeze in her throat at the thought of her sister.

"All of them?"

"My girls, Bella, Jacob, Embry, Leah, those Cullen kids and Nessie." She paused, wondering how much he knew exactly.

"Do you know?"

"Yes. After Embry…got attached to Mila, it all came out, about Jacob and the others. They told me everything when Nessie and Mila got into a fight."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Once I get over the shock."

There was a long pause.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Over 20 years is more than a while."

"Yeah." Another pause. "I missed you."

"Really?"

"You were a good friend."

A friend. A good friend, she repeated in her head.


	22. Chapter 22

Note: Sorry this took so long. School has been crazy.

It'll be short, but next chapter I aim to have at least 1000 words, maybe even 2000.

Xxx

"Embry, I need to talk to you."

Beth stood in the doorway to her bedroom, her finger crooked at Embry. They were the only two not rushing around. Everyone else was packing for the next day. Rather than take a road trip, it had been decided after the third fight in less than 12 hours (Edward vs. Mila that morning, Mila vs. Nessie at the mall, and a quiet but scary Embry vs. Edward at the house) that it would be best if they flew. Edward had been eager to part ways with the 'mutts', so he had paid for Leah, Embry and Mila's tickets back to Washington. Everyone else was headed to Maine. Billy and Charlie were meeting the former group at the airport, which they had arranged just an hour ago.

They were all packing, and with that came the yelling. As Embry nodded and went into Beth's room, the following exchanges occurred.

"Where are my Gloria Vanderbilt jeans?"

"Who's shoes are these?"

"If no one claims this headband, I'm taking it!"

"Why is there a shoe with my bras?"

Embry leaned against the wall, his eyes on Beth. She looked tired, and her dark eyes had circles under them. He could see more of Mila in her, despite the twins being identical. It had to be the weariness that Beth and Mila wore on their faces. Nadia either hid hers very well or didn't have any worries at all.

"What is it?" he asked.

"As you know, Mila is moving to La Push. And since Jacob will be gallivanting around with Nessie, he can't watch out for her. Billy, bless his heart, is in that chair. That leaves you. And I know you will do anything to protect her, so please. Make sure she's safe over there. I don't have much family, just Jacob, Billy and the girls. I know the reservation is safe, but you never know. Especially now that I know…the cold ones exist."

"Your daughter is my life now. I will fight for her until I can't." Embry said, her jaw set.

"I know. She's your imprint."

Beth sighed and sat on her bed. "Two weeks ago, none of this existed for me. And then, all at once I find out the shifters are real, my daughter has a soul mate and vampires walk among us and defy the laws of biology to boot. I need a break."

"I get it. It's been insane."

"Do you love her?"

"Yes."

The answer was automatic. He had to love her and Beth knew that was what was tearing Mila up inside. She could see the looks her daughter sent Embry's way when she thought no one was looking. Longing was plastered all over her daughter's face. But Mila had an intricate code of ethics that Beth didn't really understand. Free will was a big deal to her, and imprinting was essentially taking someone's free will away from them.

"I trust you Embry."


	23. Chapter 23

"I'm scared."

The words fell out of her mouth as Mila stared out the window, her eyes trained on the cars on the highway rather than her mother. It was six in the morning and she was in her mother's Saturn. They were on their way to the airport. In less than an hour, she would be on a plane to Washington. The others were split up in the other cars. The Cullens had given Leah the van as a gift. It was only Beth and Mila in the Saturn though. One last time to try and bond.

They had never been as close as Beth and Nadia. It was easier to bond with a child that was more like you. Mila had always been mature for her age. When Beth had come into a large sum of money when the girls were eleven. Nadia had suggested a shopping spree. Mila had suggested they get a house.

Three guesses who she had listened to.

Try living with a child that gave you a look that screamed 'YOU'RE AN IDIOT' more than half the time. She was uneasy around Mila, afraid that she would say something that would make Mila shoot her that look. It made her feel like a failure. Beth knew that Mila thought Nadia was her favorite.

It wasn't true. Nadia took all the focus because she needed someone all the time. Mila had been a grownup even as a child. Nadia had just become her own person while Mila had been her own since before Beth could remember.

That made her expression of vulnerability all the more shocking.

"I am going to mess this up mom. It's college. Real college. I'm going from a place where professors choose what class they teach by throwing darts at the board to where they've been studying what they teach since before I was born. What if I kill Uncle Billy by accident? I'm an English major. Not pre-med!"

Beth took a deep breath and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're going to be fine. You're a bright girl Mila. The reason you're leaving is because you're ready to move past the dart board. And Billy is going to be just fine. He's been taking care of himself for years for a few years now, and he's been doing fine. All you need to do is help him around the house and keep him company. Hell, you've been keeping us together for years. You are the most capable person I know."

It hung between them, not needing to be said.

I'm proud of you.

Xxx

"Do you need anything? A pillow? A snack?"

"No. And quit fawning over me. I am not a baby."

"Never said you were. You look uncomfortable."

"I've never flown before okay? It's nerve wracking."

"How the hell did you get to La Push before?"

"The train. The bus. God, I wish I could drink.":

"Calm down."

"I don't want to end up on the island from Lost."

"I…don't think that's going to happen."

Mila began to fidget in her seat. They were somewhere over the Mid-West. She had been that way since takeoff. Embry was in the seat next to her, trying to comfort her without touching her. Leah was in the row behind them, knocked out by sleeping pills.

The others were probably in Maine by now, and in Beth and Nadia' case, home. Nadia had started to cry almost as soon as they had gotten to the airport. She had clung to Mila the longest, babbling about a twin bond. Emmett had needed to pull her off when it had been time for Mila to leave.

_I'll miss you too Dia. You can stop crying…now. Okay, now. STOP CRYING DAMMIT!_

It hadn't worked. At all.

Mila had wanted to cry, but she needed to keep it together. It was her job.

As if on cue, Embry spoke.

"You can freak out about leaving. If you want. I mean, I won't tell anyone and Leah is asleep. So…you can."

Mila furrowed her eyebrows at him. The concern was nice, but she knew that it would grate on her as time went on. She didn't want a ball and chain.

There would be more information where she was going.

Somewhere, she would find what she needed.

This….thing between them would be broken.


End file.
